Recipe for Snowfall
by pokesam
Summary: A bunch of drabbles based on the before, during, and after, of Rise of the Guardians, mainly revolving around the life of a young mischief maker.
1. Restless

If anyone had been antsy in the history of ever, it was Jack Frost, more than anyone else ever had been. His clothes felt too tight, he was itching, and pacing was not good enough to get his energy out of his system. No amount of snowball fights would do very much for him, even if it was with Jamie and the others. Flying usually was the best solution for instances such as this, but he had tried that already. It was missing something, obviously, and Jack had almost too hard of time figuring out what. On any other day, it was fine that it was just he and the wind out for a flight, but not today. He needed some… foreign company.

And it just so happened that he was zooming around Indonesia, the place where Tooth Palace was located, in an effort to try and find something to do.

The winter spirit was thrilled to know that someone he could goof off with was so close by, though he hoped that she wasn't too busy with work, as usual. (What was it with kids and their teeth constantly falling out, anyway?) It was worth a shot, either outcome, for he was glad that he could use his bout of ADHD as an excuse to see his favorite fairy again. He zoomed its way.

Tooth Palace was much more impressive than the last time Jack visited it; back then it had been under attack and was deteriorating due to Tooth's lack of belief. But now, Jack was able to see it in all it's splendor, with gleaming golden spires, intricate, multicolored mosaics, and the little zooming flecks of iridescent green as they flitted between a large center spire, then to various spires at which the teeth were deposited, and then to the top of the central spire again to collect currency. In said central spire was the Tooth Fairy, by far the largest and most beautiful of the hummingbird humanoids, green, indigo, and gold feathers gleaming brilliantly as she moved about in more or less the same place, giving her fairies various instructions and taking the teeth from some of them to inspect.

She was examining a bicuspid when Jack snuck up behind her and cleared his throat. She flittered about three feet higher in the air in surprise, barely concealing a squeak. She spun around, only to be faced with a mischievous spirit of winter (the one she coincidentally had a crush on) cracking a smile, hiding laughter in his icy blue irises.

"Hey, Tooth." Jack said as casually as possible. Tooth, in response, put a hand to her chest, much like an old woman would after a scare such as the one she had just received.

"Jack, don't scare me like that." Tooth laughed slightly; she felt a bit ridiculous to have reacted like that. He, however, didn't seem to care and merely flashed his crystalline teeth at her in a smile.

"So, what's up?" she asked, hoping it wasn't something serious, like, say, he had just created the mother of all blizzards and it was headed her way.

He shrugged and began to swing his staff all over the place, pacing back and forth, which struck Tooth as odd. "Eh, I was just in the area, and I wanted to hang out with someone." He looked at the fairy expectantly. "You wanna go for a flight or something?"

Tooth was taken aback by this. Not to say she wasn't pleased or anything, but she had always viewed Jack as a creature of solitude, and it was of her that she assumed so. The last thing she had expected was for him to ask her to just hang out with him, instead of, say, Jamie. Then again, he wasn't in Indonesia. She really wanted to go, too. But duty called first, naturally.

"I… I dunno, Jack. I still have work I need to do and-" she began apologetically, but Jack cut her off.

"Work, shmerk." he huffed. "You've been working your feathers off for the last, what, 440 plus years? Come on, you should get out once and a while. And, no, the whole Pitch incident is not considered a break." he then stated sternly.

"I wasn't going to say it was," said she, though she was smiling regardless.

She thought it over. She had been a bit frazzled lately, more than usual; perhaps work really was getting to her. And the idea of just a free flight sounded pretty refreshing, not to mention that her fairies were perfectly capable of managing the palace in her absence. Plus, Jack seemed pretty antsy at the moment and it seemed to her that he was in need of some down time as well.

"Well, okay." she finally complied. Jack executed a mid-air back-flip at her response, which made her flutter away a few inches.

"Sweet!" the winter spirit whooped and grabbed her small wrist, just a bit violently, making Tooth jump again in surprise. "Come on, let's go!"

"Wha- _now?!" _she protested, letting herself get dragged out a few feet from her original position before halting them both.

"Yes, now. When else? You have wings, you can fly." His grin was wild, yet innocent, childlike, full of wonder and excitement. Tooth had always forgotten that that he was technically a kid, due to the demeanor that he always kept up, but when he looked at her as he was looking at her now, the fact that he was a child at heart was really driven home. And she couldn't help but to be caught up in it. His grin was returned.

This time, he didn't have to drag her anywhere, yet his hand still remained on her delicate wrist as the two flyers took off in a whirl to the sky, into the clouds.

Tooth found herself laughing as both she and the winter spirit worked off their excess energy, soon executing a game of tag (started by the Guardian of Fun, unsurprisingly.) and chasing each other through the endless world of the sky above.

Tooth flew, but she had never really _flown_ until now. It felt wonderful.

**Why hello there.**

**So I love Rise of the Guardians pretty much, and I decided to contribute to it, due to all the feels it gave me, by writing some ever-wonderful cruddy fanfiction. Yay for cruddy fanfiction.**

**This is just going to be a series of drabbles before and after the movie, with some of them during it, if I'm feeling adventurous (in no particular order, of course). I hope people like it!**

**Yes, sky tag. I would love to play sky tag. That would be the coolest thing ever.**

**And if you have any prompts or suggestions or something, please tell me via review or PM, as I'm not terribly good with ideas. Thank you!**


	2. Take a Shot

Maybe coming to the pole the day after Christmas hadn't been such a good idea after all.

When Jack had arrived at the Pole for the time on his own volition as Guardian, he had found North in a rather… festive mood. Apparently, after his job was done, he had taken a rather Russian approach and hit the hoards of alcohol that he possessed. (Which Jack didn't even know he had.) When a reluctant yeti named Robert had let Jack in, he had found Sandy dozing in a corner, Bunnymund sprawled over a table, half consciously mumbling nonsense, and North still drinking and getting rather red in the face.

"Uh… What happened?" was the first thing he kind of had to ask.

North laughed straight from his belly, looking in Jack's direction with disturbing jolliness. "Been celebrating! Is first Christmas since Pitch was defeated!"

Jack stared at him. "How long have you been 'celebrating'?"

North suddenly looked very serious and thought about it. "Three hours."

Jack's dark eyebrows vanished into his silver hair. North ignored this and continued to down yet another bottle of unidentifiable alcohol. Then he grew morose, looking at the winter spirit with woe.

"Tooth was so unkind to us… she did not want to come." He complained. "She's always work work work, never goes to enjoy herself."

"Maybe not in this particular manner." Jack commented, gesturing to Bunny, who had slipped off the table with a crash. North ignored this as well.

"Da, well…" North mumbled something and took another swig from his bottle. But he paused, appearing to have realized something and leapt to his feet, rushing towards Jack, backing him into a wall, and looking at him with he eyes of a madman.

"You can come drink with us in her stead!"

Jack blinked. "What?" Where, in the name of the moon, had that idea had come from? Jack hadn't had a drop in his life, and he certainly wasn't going to start drinking now. Clearly, North had drunken too much; he wouldn't be surprised if the mammoth of a man knew it too, but just didn't care.

"Jack, you must learn to live a little!" North roared joyfully, taking a shot glass from seemingly nowhere and filling it with a clear substance from the bottle he had in his large hands. Jack had a sneaking suspicion as to what it was.

"North, I'm 17 years old biologically. You can't give minors alcohol." Jack protested, trying his best to push the glass away.

"But you are over 300 years old, no? Just one shot, come!" the madman who had fathered Christmas chuckled.

Jack sighed. If it was just one shot, then fine, just to make Santa happy. He snatched the glass out of his hands and drained the vodka in one go, not even pausing to think about the way it tasted, which was pretty nasty. When he was finished, he lowered it with finality and handed it back to the Russian, who looked very happy.

"Good! Now, one more!" he exclaimed, refilling the glass, at which Jack retreated.

"Oh, no you don't, one was the agreement." Jack said sternly, running away from the alcoholic's reach. North looked disappointed.

Jack grimaced at the look North gave him; it was one of a kicked puppy who hadn't been fed or days, and he was clearly torn up over Jack's decision to remain as abstinent as he could.

"Please?"

Jack let his palm smack his head.

**xXx**

Jamie had been looking forward to seeing Jack all that winter, seeing as the spirit hadn't visited Burgess that season at all, since he was making sure that Montana and Wisconsin were well covered in snow that year. But he hadn't known that the next time he would see him, he would be crouched in a corner, paler that usual, looking like he wanted to die.

"Jack…? Are you okay?" Jamie asked hesitantly.

Jack looked at him, his eyes an angry red with violent dark circles around them.

"Never…" he rasped. "Let North give me alcohol ever again."

**AN/:**

**Had to. I trust you to understand.**


	3. Picking Favorites

The Guardians weren't allowed to say they had a favorite child. If asked, they would simply respond that they didn't love any child more than another. That they were impartial, and that all children meant everything to them. This wasn't true, of course. The Guardians did in fact have favorites of their own.

It was plain to see that the Guardians loved the Bennett siblings more than any other kids in the generation. Jamie, with his big coffee eyes and unfaltering belief, and Sophie, the little girl with a long, tangles mop of hair, the two that had a fairly significant role in defeating the boogeyman and teaching the senior Guardians what was truly important.

Jack Frost would always be playing with them come winter. The Tooth Fairy liked to visit on the night of either of their birthdays. Sandman would take them flying around the night sky on the solstices. North would deliver their presents personally during his rounds on Christmas Eve. And the Easter Bunny would let the two kids run around the Warren the day before Easter and paint some eggs if they felt up to it.

They were the kids who had believed in them all during the fiasco that was the Pitch battle of 2012, or Jamie had at least, as Sophie had been asleep for most of it. These two kids meant a lot to them.

And the kids weren't allowed to say that they had a favorite Guardian. Or, at least, that's what most thought. But they did and stated it proudly. For Sophie, hers was Bunnymund, not only because she loved rabbits, but she loved Easter as well, being the curious type, and he even let her chase his eggs around every once and a while. In Jamie's case, it was Jack. He wasn't organized, deadline and hard-work oriented like the others. He was a hands-on "let's-screw-everything-up-because-it's-fun" Guardian, but he wasn't entirely disregarding of the rules either, and was more of an older brother to Jamie that anything else.

But when winter came to pass on Burgess, Pennsylvania, Jack always wanted to play with the two. And they, with him.

Especially when he purposely made it snow on Easter.

* * *

**AN/: Just a little thing I wrote in class, nothing special. Had to write something about the kiddies. **

**+ Bunny torture hurr hurr.  
**

**Wow, three days, and I've gotten quite a few follows and favorites! I'm honored, truly. I now have this urge to write less cruddily. **


	4. Biscotti for the Boogeyman

Sophie had heard about the Boogeyman from her brother. He had told her stories of how he, his friends, Jack, and the other Guardians had defeated him in an epic battle, saving the world from an endless amount of nightmares. Afterwards, Pitch had been dragged back into his lair by his own fear and was now gone for quite a while, not to bother anyone with bad dreams anymore. Sophie loved his stories, and his method of storytelling got her excited and enthralled. He told her this tale over and over, his mother thinking that it was just a story told to amuse the blonde girl. Adults had very mundane minds, after all.

But the more Sophie heard about the demise of the Boogeyman, the more she had to wonder. Having a three-year old mind, she always searched for the good in people, rather than the bad.

She wondered if Pitch really was as evil as Jamie made him out to be. Maybe he was just misunderstood, and nobody cared to understand him.

So, Sophie hatched a plan. A plan to make sure that he knew at least one person wanted to understand, even if that person was a three-year old girl who had never seen him before. It was said that Santa appreciated milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, according to Jamie anyway, so Sophie thought that perhaps Pitch might like some too. Thus, she ransacked the fridge and pantries, looking for some of these items. She was quite disappointed to learn that they were out of milk, and the closest thing they had to cookies were some biscotti that their mother had brought home from work. Those were good enough, so she grabbed them and got down from the counter, but not before her mom walked into the kitchen.

"Sophie, what are you doing?" she asked, wondering if she wanted to know.

"Cookies and milk for the Boogeyman." replied Sophie, as if it were obvious. To a three-year old, it should have been.

Her mother frowned. "Those are biscotti, honey. They're grown-up cookies."

"The Boogeyman is grown-up."

Her mother was starting to wonder about this child. She had used to insist that the Boogeyman didn't exist, but now… It was either the stories Jamie was telling her, or she just was trying to lie unnecessarily.

"I don't know if… The _Boogeyman_ likes biscotti or coffee."

Sophie returned her frown. "Coffee?"

"…Yes…"

"Can the Boogeyman have coffee?" she asked, eyes alight.

Poor Ms. Bennett was very confused. "Well… _maybe,_ but…"

"We can try!" said Sophie, box rattling in her hands as she jumped slightly to show her insistence.

"…Okay…"

* * *

That night, Sophie walked into her room with a plate of three dark chocolate biscotti and a mug of hot, black coffee. The little girl laid them on the floor by her bed, making sure that Abby didn't come poking around for a late night snack with the help of her older brother. (She had discussed her plan with him and he had called her crazy) Then, the waiting game began. She had herself all snuggled, tucked in and kissed by her mother and father, neither of them questioning the intent of the beverage and sustenance on the floor outright. The moment they left, Sophie scrambled to the edge of her bed, waiting for Pitch to come out and see what she had left for him. She stared, waited, stared, and waited some more. But a three-year old's will can only last so long, particularly when the Sandman decided it was time for a certain little girl to go to sleep.

Sophie didn't even notice the dreamsand weave its way into her room and was only aware of its presence when she was out like a light.

* * *

Morning had arrived, and Sophie had awoken with a sense of failure. She hadn't seen if Pitch had accepted her offering or not. If only sleep had not taken her as soon as it did. She looked over the bed, about to crawl out of it, when she was taken by surprise.

The mug of coffee was empty and two of the biscotti remained.

* * *

**AN/: Saw the most adorable picture of this kind of situation on tumblr, and what can I say? The story practically wrote itself, helped by not going to sleep until 1 am and stealing my dad's jerky, but that's besides the point.**

**And you people. You people are insane. I had to spend half an hour cleaning out my inbox this morning. Usually it takes two seconds. **

**I love every last one of you.  
**


	5. A Very Merry Christmas

Jack had never really celebrated Christmas, both as human and spirit. As a human, his family had consisted of a few shepherds with little money to their name, and as a spirit… well, he had never been given a real cause to. Christmas was about giving and family, and Jack wasn't entirely sure how either of those worked. He had seen the bright lights, the old relatives popping in out of nowhere, and also the faces of the children when they unwrapped their presents come Christmas morning. Jack could not help but to envy North when it came to this; he was able to give the most amazing things like no-one's business. But, as for the winter spirit…

Well, let's just say that he gave Jamie one heck of a surprise.

"You've never had a Christmas before?" Jamie asked with incredulity, mouth wide open and eyes on the verge of popping out of his skull.

"I really don't see why you're getting so upset." Jack frowned from his usual shtick of walking along the fence by the kid. "Jewish people don't celebrate Christmas either."

"Yeah but they celebrate Hanukkah." Jamie rolled his eyes. "Unlike you, who celebrates nothing, Mr. Grinch."

"Hey, I never said I had anything against Christmas. What's the big deal, anyway?"

"Christmas is only the best holiday they have made up yet!" Jamie stated, as if it were obvious, but then frowned. "Don't tell Bunny I said that."

Jack grinned.

"But, I mean, Christmas is amazing! You get to see all your relatives most times, and decorate because you can, and get presents from people you've never even heard of!"

The winter spirit swung him staff, frosting over an innocent fence pole. "Well, here's the thing, Jamie. I don't have the ability to do any of those things."

Jamie stared at him, shocked once again. "Really?"

He noticed how Jack purposely avoided eye contact, though he tried to ignore it. "Yeah. I mean, my immediate family has been dead for three centuries now, and I don't know who my descendants are. I've been by myself for the most part."

Jack wasn't trying to guilt trip Jamie, but he had succeeded nonetheless. The 10 year old boy didn't know that Jack had no family, which was pretty much the point of doing all the other stuff. And the Guardians probably weren't getting a break this Christmas, though Jamie hoped that they did consider Jack to be their family. He felt awful not knowing.

He wanted Jack to at least spend one Christmas happy, so he couldn't help but to blurt out his next statement.

"You could spend Christmas with me and Sophie!"

Jack nearly slipped off his perch on the fence; in retrospect, perhaps Jamie shouldn't have shouted.

"What?!" he asked his first believer disbelievingly, regaining his balance.

"Well, I mean…" Jamie shuffled awkwardly, suddenly feeling rather shy about his outburst. "Since you're not going to spend it with the other Guardians, because of what happened last year…"

The Vodka Incident. Jack felt a hollow smile appear.

"This year, you could come spend it with us, when Mom and Dad are asleep. Sophie and I never really sleep on Christmas Eve anyway." Jamie continued hopefully. "You could come in through the window or something."

Jack felt himself feeling really happy, even though he didn't show it outwardly. Jamie was like a younger sibling to him, and he would like nothing better than to spend some downtime with him. That simple invitation meant more than Jamie might ever know.

There, however, was a slight wrinkle, as there was to everything.

"What am I supposed to give you guys?" the spirit frowned.

Jamie paused. This got him thinking; what was he going to give Jack? He knew less about the Guardian than he cared to admit. But he answered his elder's question before first.

"How about… a white Christmas! With a whole foot of snow!"

Jack grinned once more. "Done."

* * *

Jamie didn't have a lot of time. There was only one week until Christmas, and he had to hurry. But the thing was, he had no idea what to get Jack. The more Jamie though about it, the more he realized that he barely knew anything about the Guardians of Fun, in terms of likes and dislikes. All Jamie knew was that he probably wouldn't like a pair of shoes or some hand warmers. Thus, he had written to north. North would know what Jack might want; it was his job after all, and he was practically psychic.

Letter done, sealed and addressed, Jamie sped off down the road to the post box as fast as his toothpick legs could carry him.

* * *

Christmas Eve had finally arrived, and Jack was due to arrive any minute. Jamie had Sophie on the couch with Abby to prevent the greyhound from eating the cookies that were for North, while he cracked open a window, but only after Jamie had made sure that his parents were out cold. He looked ashamedly at his measly attempt at a gift for the Guardian of Fun; he knew just by looking at it that he could have done so much better. Maybe if North had actually replied to his letter… but maybe he had just been busy, as it was understandable that he would be at this time of year. It would have to do, even if Jamie was none too pleased with it.

A freezing breeze oozed into the room and Jamie spun with Sophie greeting a certain someone with a "Hi, Snowflake!"

And there Jack was, climbing in through the window, as if it was an everyday thing.

"Hey, Jamie. I got the snow started for you. Hope you like it."

"Merry Christmas, Jack." Jamie grinned, hiding his lumpy package behind him.

"We got presents for you too, Jackie!" Sophie exclaimed excitedly, and her brother felt his face flush. Jack, however, just stared.

"Really?" he said weakly.

"Yeah!" Sophie giggled and slid off the couch. (Abby, who seized her chance, attempted to take a cookie from the platter, only to be stopped by Jamie.) From a desk drawer, she pulled a large piece of paper and held it out for Jack to see. On it was a blond girl, brown haired boy, and a white haired one with a blue shirt. They were all smiling and holding hands, with a messy scrawl at the bottom, saying "Merry Christmas, Snowflake."

Jack looked overjoyed at this simple little drawing and his smile could have eclipsed the sun. Sophie didn't even stop for a thank you, however; she had already taken Jamie's present from his grasp and thrust it into Jack's hands.

Jamie was quite indignant at her actions, but it was too late; Jack was already tearing it open. The snowman patterned tissue paper fell away onto the carpet to reveal a small snowglobe with a small snowflake inside it on a keychain.

"Sorry…" Jamie felt mortified and resorted to staring at his feet. "I didn't know what to get you and well…I know it isn't very good…"

"Are you stupid?" Jack interrupted. "I love it."

Jamie's head snapped up, earning him a pulled muscle. "Really?!"

"Of course I-"

Jack was interrupted by a sound like a plunger being withdrawn from a sink coming from the chimney, at which they all whirled around, with Abby growling. Out came old Nicholas St. North, with a large sack over his shoulder, grinning at them all.

"Merry Christmas, you three!" he chortled, slinging his pack down.

"Santa!" cried Sophie, dashing forward at once, proceeding to attempt to hug him around his rather large middle.

"Hey, North." Jack smiled at the father of Christmas. "Merry Christmas."

"And a Happy Christmas to you, Jack." His smile was returned from a huge mass of white beard. His attention was soon turned to Jamie and the kids. "I brought presents!"

Sophie squealed, albeit quietly, so as to not wake up their paternal elders. Jamie cracked a smile and dashed forward. North went face first into that giant bloody sack of his and withdrew two presents, Jamie's being smaller than Sophie's.

"Here, for Jamie… And for you, Sophie. Don't open them until your parents are awake, da?"

"Okay!" Sophie giggled. Jamie, however, was quiet. "Um, North? Did you… get my letter?"

North paused, contemplative, before he remembered. "Oh! Yes, yes I did! Bah, how could I almost forget!" He then returned his shaggy white head into the depths of the massive sack, rummaging a bit more furiously.

Jack frowned. Jamie had written a letter to North? About what?

North's head finally withdrew. "Ha!" he exclaimed. "Here it is!"

And to Jack's great surprise, the box he held in his hand was pushed into his grip.

"Merry Christmas, Jack." said the mammoth of a man, eyes twinkling. Jack just stared. He really had no clue what to say; all thought had fled is brain due to astonishment.

Jamie, however, snapped him back to reality. "Well, open it!" he encouraged.

Jack looked at him briefly before pulling the wrapping off and opening the box, a feeling of almost apprehension making his stomach rise up into his esophagus. North always knew what a child wanted for Christmas as a material object, even if they didn't know it themselves. It seemed to be a psychic ability he had. So, it was only natural that he wonder…

The lid fell away to reveal what was inside. A pair of decrepit old ice skates, still in pretty good condition, now that he thought about it.

Jack was puzzled at first. Why would North give him a pair of worn old skates? That didn't really make any sense…

Then it hit him. Pippa.

These were Pippa's skates.

"What…" All his intelligence had fled for a mini vacation. "North, what… How did you…"

Jamie and Sophie looked at each other, more than apparently confused.

"N-North, where and how did you get these?!" Jack asked, trying not to sound like he was on the verge of tears. He might've been already, but he was determined to hold it back as well as he could.

North grew very interested in the ceiling fan. "Museum in Michigan. I think you would prefer not to learn the how."

But Jack didn't care. He was here, the last pieces of real evidence his sister had lived in his hands, surrounded with people that he cared about. He didn't even care how the other Guardians had learned that he had a younger sister. The winter spirit threw all his pride out of the way and gave the Russian a crushing hug.

"Thank you, North." His voice came out muffled. "Thank you so much."

Jamie and Sophie were far too confused at the moment as Jack and North finally withdrew from the embrace Jack had initiated.

"He must've got something really good." Jamie muttered to his sibling, who nodded sternly. They couldn't beat Santa when it came to gift giving.

"Well, I must be going now." said North brightly as he placed a heavy boot on the hearth. "More presents to deliver. And Jack, I expect you to show to the Christmas party tomorrow."

Jack suddenly became his old self again. "Heck, no. Remember what happened last time I tried that?"

North let out a his very own maniac laugh and zoomed up the chimney in the blink of an eye. Then he was gone.

They sat in silence, heavy and almost painful, until Jamie broke it. "What'd he give you?"

Jack smiled, holding Jamie's keychain in his palm, rolling it back and forth. "Something I'd never think I'd see again."

It was a very Merry Christmas that year.

* * *

**AN/: Because I love Christmas. Happy Holidays to you all; I hope you go something better than this silly little one-shot this year.**

**I am now going to go listen to obnoxious Christmas carols and no one can stop me.  
**


	6. How it Feels

If only Bunny knew how low a blow that had been. Sure, Jack had egged him on with that highly infuriating comparison to an Australian marsupial, all because of his cursed height and accent, but then again, he had essentially gotten the whole thing started.

"I'm a bunny. The _Easter Bunny._ People believe in _me._" he had spat as a reply.

He had thought that Jack would give him some sort of snarky quip in return, but he didn't. Jack had given him a look like he wanted to fight back, had wanted to make another aggravating wise-crack, but let his true, lonely nature leak out as he ran out of fun and games to hide behind. But Bunny hadn't realized, or even thought what that truly meant to Jack at the time. Not until that one Easter when a child had just passed right through him. That one incident had got him thinking, after everything was over. That one moment, that one horrible moment when he hadn't been seen or heard by the very people he was supposed to be protecting was something Jack had been experiencing for over 300 years. And it was only then that he understood. But what had he done? He had just turned around and caused the winter spirit to be all alone, bitterly, painfully, miserably alone all over again. It was only when Jamie had been able to see him that that had all changed. But what if he hadn't? What if Jamie had never seen Jack, never believed in him? For one thing, Bunny probably wouldn't exist right now. And Jack would continue to be starved of interaction with others.

It was only now that Bunny understood.

* * *

**AN/: Not very long, but I don't care.**

**The interaction of Jack and Bunny is... an interesting one. You see what tumblr does to me?!  
**

**And you guys made my inbox explode again, darn you, I'm not used to waking up to 10+ emails. (Which is pitiful, really.) I'm glad people liked the last chapter, despite how obviously rushed it was.  
**

**Leaving for the Bay Area tomorrow, be back in about a week. Stay fabulous~  
**


	7. A Single Drop

The boy was still underwater, under the silent ice and liquid that kept him imprisoned. He was alone. There was no one there. Just he and the dark water around him. He was floating, suspended, unknowing of anything. Not his name, not his origin, not his purpose, nothing. He had yet to be told these things.

Did he leave something behind? Did he lose someone? Did someone lose him? He just had the feeling that he had once been _something._ But that was impossible. He would have remembered… wouldn't he? He would have never forgotten something like that, no matter was kind of person he was, right?

So why was he crying?

He felt that lone drop begin to slide down his cheek before it dissipated and awoke to it. It was odd. The feeling was foreign, even though he was surrounded by the substance. Even though it did end up dissolving into the surrounding water, he had never felt anything like that before, to have liquid come from within him.

Actually, that was the first thing he had ever felt in his memory.

This feeling triggered his awakening into the world. A world surrounded by cold and dark and loneliness. He felt a new thing within himself; he was scared.

But then he saw the Moon.

* * *

**AN/:Y'all have a nice New Year? I had to spend mine in California, with all the palm trees and road kill. In other words, it could have been better.  
**

**I was browsing tumblr again (yeah big surprise) and I saw a gif set from the beginning part of the movie. And someone pointed out that Jack was crying, which I totally missed. Curses.**

**Anyway I ended up screeching "BABY" and writing this. I think it's okay, despite the length.  
**


	8. If you give a Fairy an Espresso

This had to be Jack's fault. There was no other explanation. It had to have been him. No other person or beast could have brought such a thing upon his seniors.

This thing was flying around the workshop, during a meeting, no less, jabbering away rapidly and incomprehensibly, zooming here and there, occasionally smashing into things, getting into all of their mouths, including Bunny's and accusing them of not taking better care of their oral skeletal pieces before zooming away to pester some other poor soul, feathers puffed out and giggling wildly, barely visible in a streak of emerald and indigo.

Bunny just _knew_ it was Jack Frost's fault that Tooth was currently on overdrive. He could come to this conclusion simply from the fact that the mischief maker was mysteriously and conveniently absent.

Bunny's thoughts were interrupted by the return of the hummingbird humanoid who had returned to poking around in his mouth, telling him that he needed to work on flossing the miniscule carrot particles out of his teeth. After leaving, she moved onto North, then Sandy, then away again. North looked exasperated while Sandy simply complied to Tooth's hyper activity, looking rather amused.

Bunny had had it.

"FROST!" he roared. The patron of the April holiday knew that that mischievous little brat was somewhere in the factory, and when he got his mitts on him he would take his neck and…

"What's up, Doc?" answered the boy's voice as he, from seemingly nowhere, leaped onto a pole from which a banner would normally be placed and hung from it by his knees. Bunny glared at his for his aggravating allusion to that obnoxious cartoon character, but otherwise disregarded it. The Easter Bunny pointes a paw at the hovering fairy, who was yammering away to some elves about something called "Listerine" on the far side of the room.

"Fix it." he said, voice hard as stone. "_Now._"

Jack gave him a look that was seemingly innocent and falsely hurt. "You say this as if it were my fault."

"Because it _is_ your fault." Bunny snapped, now sure of his conviction. "Fix it."

The winter spirit, still upside down, shrugged. "Can't. Sorry."

His tone was not apologetic at all.

"And why can't you?"

"Because I have no power over the Tooth Fairy's bloodstream? Why do you think?" the spirit rolled his eyes, though he was clearly enjoying Bunny's fury. After all, it did make for a nice monotony breaker.

Bunny, however, found this little statement interesting. "What does her bloodstream have to do with anything?" he retorted suspiciously.

Jack suddenly found his fingernails to be the most fascinating subject on the face of the Earth.

"Let's just say-" he was cut short by the Tooth Fairy barreling into his personal space and cramming her slender fingers into his mouth, squealing something about how wonderful and pristine his teeth were before zooming off again. Jack pretended it had never happened and continued.

"Let's just say" he continued, adjusting his jaw tenderly," That Jamie and I totally didn't introduce her to a concept called Starbucks."

Bunny and North looked at him with horror while Sandy started to laugh silently.

"You didn't." said the rodent and the Russian in unison.

"We did." Jack grinned maliciously. "We thought it would be an amusing experiment. And now Jamie owes me five bucks."

North sighed, palm connecting with is forehead. "You made a bet, too?"

"Hey, his fault for offering. Besides, he picked the wrong outcome."

Bunny threw down one of his back feet in sheer frustration. "Who cares about the bet?! How do we get her to calm down before she gets anymore roo loos in the top paddock?!"

Jack flipped off his perch flawlessly, much like a gymnast. "Well, either wait until the caffeine runs its course, or you can ask Sandy." he gestured to the little golden man who was doubled over with mute laughter.

His less occupied seniors stared at him. They hadn't thought of that.

Suddenly looking rather sheepish, North turned to the little man, currently recovering from his soundless bout of hysterics, who looked at him innocently, though occasionally had to hide a chuckle.

"Sandy, can we ask for your help?" North asked politely.

Sandy nodded, albeit smiling bemusedly at them, particularly Jack, before arming himself with a small orb of dream sand.

Tooth was soon on the floor, snoozing peacefully, while the others decided that this experiment probably shouldn't repeat itself.

At least they now knew the results of Tooth and coffee mixed.

* * *

**AN/: If you guess the book title this chapter is poking fun at, you get an invisible brownie.**

******I am quite sad to learn that I seem to be the only one to make the relation of Bugs Bunny to Bunnymund. I mean really. I beg of you to prove me wrong. Please do it. Seriously.  
**

**And if it wasn't obvious, I'm starting to run out of material, due to me being preoccupied on other things. Give me ideas, you get a sexy lapdance. _LAPDANCE._  
**


	9. I'm Still Here

Jack had been a wanderer for the whole of his life for, well, pretty much ever. Since the day he had gotten out of that lake and had realized that he practically didn't exist… Something he didn't like to think about but it shoved itself in his face at every opportune moment, so it was hard not to. It was the worst torture imaginable.

And no matter what he tried, nothing would ever work, would end it. So he moved on, focusing on other's troubles and happiness rather than his own. But he would still be reminded of how lonely he always was.

During his wanderings, only 8 years before the battle of the Nightmare King, in which he would finally be believed in, he had traveled to a magazine stand in New York in mid-winter. Why it was still open in 14 degree Fahrenheit weather was beyond him. The owner had gone on a coffee break somewhere in the city lines wilderness, so Jack has free to nick a paper from the stands, as he usually did when he wanted to read something. (it was a little known fact that he was secretly a bookworm) He had opened it to the first article, January 16th, 2003, reading the headlines, when the radio had started to play.

It was called "I'm Still Here" by some guy called John Rzeznik.

It was another painful reminder, he soon learned. And yet, Jack found himself listening to every note as it played to him, the only one who was there, who was listening.

_I am a question to the world,_  
_Not an answer to be heard._  
_All a moment that's held in your arms._  
_And what do you think you'd ever say?_  
_I won't listen anyway_  
_You don't know me_  
_And I'll never be what you want me to be._

_And what do you think you'd understand?_  
_I'm a boy, no, I'm a man_  
_You can take me and throw me away._  
_And how can you learn what's never shown?_  
_Yeah, you stand here on your own._  
_They don't know me 'cause I'm not here._

_And I want a moment to be real_  
_Wanna touch things I don't feel_  
_Wanna hold on and feel I belong._  
_And how can the world want me to change_  
_They're the ones that stay the same._  
_They don't know me_  
_'Cause I'm not here._

_And you see the things they never see_  
_All you wanted, I could be_  
_Now you know me, and I'm not afraid_  
_And I wanna tell you who I am_  
_Can you help me be a man?_  
_They can't break me_  
_As long as I know who I am_

_And I want a moment to be real,_  
_Wanna touch things I don't feel,_  
_Wanna hold on and feel I belong._  
_And how can the world want me to change,_  
_They're the ones that stay the same._  
_They can't see me_  
_But I'm still here._

_They can't tell me who to be_  
_'Cause I'm not what they see._  
_And the world is still sleepin',_  
_While I keep on dreamin' for me._  
_And their words are just whispers_  
_And lies that I'll never believe._

_And I want a moment to be real_  
_Wanna touch things I don't feel_  
_Wanna hold on and feel I belong._  
_And how can they say I never change_  
_They're the ones that stay the same._  
_I'm the one now_  
_'Cause I'm still here._

_I'm the one_  
_'Cause I'm still here._  
_I'm still here._  
_I'm still here._  
_I'm still here._

As the last note faded, Jack found himself feeling empty. Emptier than ever. But somehow, he felt… happy? Why was he happy?

Oh, right. Because someone could at least imagine what it was like to have such a life, even if in their case, it was metaphorical.

And the vagabond had moved on, that song forever lodged like a thorn in his heart.

* * *

**AN: Yeah thanks, AquaNerd. Making me write song related stuff. **

**Totally wasn't creeper and didn't read all their stuff, not getting the song and the idea from their fic "Sing A Song". It's precious so go read it.  
**

**PS: Em the Guest, you guessed correctly so your prize is an invisible brownie. *throws one at the fabulousity that is you*  
**

**And thanks to those of you who sent in ideas, it's appreciated~  
**

**And I just realized that we have a lack of cover. Damn it.  
**


	10. Tooth Pulling

"Jackson Overland, don't you dare!"

The shrill cry of the lady of the overland house dominated all other noises in the community, especially today. Of course, it was the norm. Jack was always getting on his mother's bad-side, one way or another, even if it was through some thing seemingly harmless. But it was always something different every time, so, of course, some interested by passers always found the time to eavesdrop. Today, the front door of the Overland's small, ramshackle cabin was wide open and tied to it was little Pippa, strung to the handle by a string roped around her tooth, with Jack prepared to slam said door.

"It was Pippa's idea!" the teen protested. Pippa nodded, since it had been. Her tooth was constantly wiggling around in her mouth, cutting into her gums and paining her for a week. Today was the day that she had had enough. So she had asked her brother of a quick, easy way to get a stubborn tooth out, and this had been his answer.

If it wasn't obvious, their mother was against the idea.

"You untie your sister right now!" she commanded.

"Bu' ma!" the little girl enunciated through her teeth. "I wan' thith tooth ou'!"

"Then you wait until it falls out." she said sternly, before rounding on Jack once more. "I don't want you accidentally yanking your sister's head off!"

"I won't be yanking her head off," Jack spoke. "I'll only be yanking a piece of it."

Their mother was not pleased.

"String. Off. Now."

"It won' hur', ma." Pippa pleaded.

"Correction, sister. It will only hurt for a moment."

"Jack!" his mother screeched.

"Mom, I'll slam the door, there will be a moment's pain, pop, the tooth comes out, and then her mouth will taste like blood, which is easily fixable."

"Jackson, you untie your sister right now!"

But Pippa was having none of that; she put her little hand on the door and shut it as hard as she could, partially fueled with frustration at her own oral skeletal pieces. Her head snapped forward, the string broke, she felt a harsh pain for about three seconds in her mouth, and a little white object fell to the floor with a soft clatter. No screaming, no wailing.

They both stared. Pippa looked at them, momentary pain now gone, only to be replaced with something that made her nose wrinkle in distaste.

"My mouth tastes like blood."

Jack looked to his mother, smug victory plastered on his face. "I told you so."

They were both grounded for three weeks afterward.

* * *

**AN/:So freaking tired... *crawls out of her tomb*  
**

**Jack isn't great at pacifying his mother. Boys generally aren't.**

**I think that for some people, this kind of gig hurt a lot more, but it didn't for me, so I just wrote it like that. Bleh.  
**

**I don't care if Jack's sister isn't named Pippa, I'm calling her that anyway because I think it's fitting and anyone who has complaints can talk to my non-existential manager.  
**

**And I still need a cover. Blah.  
**


	11. In Memoriam

It had been a month since the incident, yet the memory was till freshly branded into each of the Guardian's mind, particularly Jack's. Every other day, he flew down to the school, observing the visitors placing gifts and mementos to their precious passed ones. So many had fallen, many of them were not even over ten years old. No matter how many times Jack flew to the site, he still felt guilt, grief, remorse, anger and despair tumble around in the pit of his heart, like clothes in a washing machine.

Flowers were laid, toys placed, even stockings were hung come Christmas week. But the pain would never, ever leave, even with the arrival of the New Year, on which people were usually fueled to starts afresh.

When the candles were lit, when nighttime came, Jack would remember.

It wasn't as if he could forget.

* * *

Jack had been adrift in the town, merely enjoying a few hours on the rooftops, half considering to whip up a snow day. But the winter spirit decided against it, what with Christmas break being less than a week away. So he resorted to taking amusement in frosting over car windshields, much to the displeasure of their owners, who had been handed the job of scraping his artwork off such surfaces. He had wandered over to an elementary school, in hopes of seeing the kids if recess was on. Unfortunately, he was disappointed. Thus, he awaited the end of the school day, so as to go play with the kids he so cared for.

But that day, something was wrong. Something was off. Jack wasn't entirely sure what, but his stomach was coiling up like a wary snake.

Then, out of the silence, a series of ear-splitting bangs. Jack froze in horror and shock. Gunshots.

From inside the school? But how? This school had a facial recognition system and everything. How could someone get in?

Jack felt himself begin to panic. More gunshots were heard. He flitted from window to another, trying to see what was going on, but to no avail.

Then the screams. The screams of children. There was screaming, there was panic, there was fear. It clung to the very air. Grief. Terror. Insanity. They mixed on that day, in the presence of the very protector of those who suffered inside. The one who couldn't do anything, anything at all. The concoction was thick, viscous, something that made one think everything and nothing at once. It was slathered over the area, oozing into hearts, infecting like a virus.

And Jack was only dimly aware of the silence of the dead inside.

He had sunk to his knees, had stared at nothing in shock, had tried to believe that this was all a kind of daymare.

But this happy lie had been shattered by his awareness of Pitch Black, half opaque, looking haggard and weary, as he appeared next to Jack, not even acknowledging him.

Jack's disbelief has turned to anger in a heartbeat, as he whirled in fury and held his staff level with Pitch's neck. The Boogeyman seemed unfazed, though he cast a glance at the boy.

"What?" the Nightmare King said.

"_Leave._" Jack spat at him, cold fury boiling in his capillaries, the wind roaring icily and dangerously around them in his temper. He could feel nothing but pure hatred and venom at the moment, and he was sure that Pitch was its cause.

"Leave _now._ You've caused enough fear and death as it is!"

Pitch sighed exasperatedly, form flickering in an almost shattered way. "Oh, the simple minded.

"Jack, I am where the fear is. The children are afraid, thus, I am here." And for the first time, he looked at Jack with a humanoid look in his lamp-like eyes. "I come for their fear, not their deaths."

The spirit merely increased the ferocity of every element under his control, his outrage building. "And this is supposed to make it better?!" he asked acidly.

Pitch gave him a glance. It, for some reason, was sorrowful. Jack did not know that he was capable of suck an emotion until them.

"These children are afraid, so, against my will, I am summoned. As a kind of symbol, if you will. I dislike it when children are afraid of a gun pointed at their heads."

And he had left with this chilling, un-Pitch like though, leaving the youngest Guardians to break down, all by his lonesome. He fell to his knees again, cradled his head in his hands and just kneeled there. Thousands of thoughts ,screams and emotions ran through his head. Grief. Terror. Insanity. He felt them all. Of them were bottled up, pressurized, contained. They screamed to be let out. They pounded on his inner walls, begging to be free, to be set loose in a scream of all the complex humanities they represented, that the frozen corpse still possessed.

But they had been interrupted by the arrival of a certain fairy.

"Jack?" she asked softly. And Jack looked up. Tooth, for the first time, looked old. Lines wove her face, her shoulders slumped, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. He took her reaction to seeing his uncovered face as a sign of how he looked as well. Awful, he guessed.

"There were kids here, they-" he began to rasp, but choked up.

"I know." she replied, voice heavy with sorrow.

"Pitch was here. They were scared. The gunshots. A lot of them…" he gulped.

Fresh tears oozed down the fairy's delicate cheeks and fell over her lips as she gave her l=thick sounding reply. "I know. One of my patrolling fairies told me."

His head found his palms again, his staff looking miserable, as it lay forgotten. The emotions returned.

"_What good is being a Guardian if I can't even protect a couple of kids?!" _he demanded, not so much from Tooth, but from the Moon. Why couldn't he even do his job right? He hadn't made the mess, but hadn't prevented it either.

Jack hadn't gotten an answer from anyone. Instead, he heard the sound of something being laid in the grass. Then the sensation of two feathery arms wrapping gently around his shoulders and pulling him close. He felt Tooth bury her face in his neck and felt the tears on her eyelashes leak onto his skin. She, he realized, had been asking herself the same question.

And so, for the first time in a while, Jack Frost silently began to cry.

* * *

The winter spirit was now watching the candles being lit and the incense being burned in complete silence, not even bothering to shift positions to escape the heat. Those kids were kids who would never move onto high-school, never go to college, never feel the happiness, sadness, and rage that love brought, never get married, never have kids of their own, never have any career, and never grow old.

Just like Jack.

On that one terrifying day, 20 lights had gone out in that state of Connecticut. Lights that shouldn't have gone out at all.

The date had been the fourteenth of December, 2012.

* * *

**AN/: It's been a month since then.**

**I think the chapter title says it all, really.  
**


	12. A Healthy Dose of Fear

Pitch was quite frustrated. For the longest time, he had attempted to invade the hearts of the people, and for the most part he had succeeded. Except for one pair of siblings. The Overland siblings.

At first, the little girl- was Pippa her name? - had seemed like the prime target. She was a gentle, kind, happy little girl who was easily frightened. She should have been easy to harvest fear from; he had the knowledge that she was particularly scared of thunderstorms.

But fear had not made a permanent nest in her heart. This vexed the Boogeymen greatly. How was such a weak little girl not scared of anything?

He did not have to look far to find the cause. The girl had an older brother. An obnoxiously good one at that. Whenever little Pippa Overland had a fear of any kind, she would always run to her brother, and any fear that had been evoked inside her would vanish at him simply saying, "It's going to be okay."

This particular boy- Jack, his name was- aggravated Pitch to no end. He had fear, like any sane human, but was quick to push through it, lock it in his emotional cage and never let it out. And his fear didn't apply to his well being anyway. (He was a bit of a daredevil) He even told Pippa the falsehood that the Boogeyman was just a big booger monster, at which point Pitch cursed his title. Normally this wouldn't have bothered Pitch at all. What did the king of terror and nightmares care about a pair of scrawny children who refused to be afraid? And yet, he somehow did. Nothing he did made either one of them fear anything. Jack was afraid for his sister, thus he protected her. This counterbalanced everything, and the Boogeyman's anger grew. Pitch soon found himself obsessed.

But his troubles, after several years of failures, were alleviated.

The little girl had wanted to go ice-skating in mid- February, when the sun was rising. Her brother had promised their mother that they'd be careful as Pippa dragged him out the door.

And soon, the fear began to spill. In less than an hour, in fact, queuing the entrance of the king of fear.

The little girl was standing on the ice, paralyzed, breath coming out in short, and desperate pants as the ice underneath her snapped menacingly. The brother's terror matched, if not exceeded, his sister's. And yet he forced himself to stay calm.

"It's okay, it's okay!" he said gently, almost completely concealing the tremble in his voice. "Don't look down, just look at me."

"Jack," Pippa whimpered. "I'm scared."

One of Pitch's favorite phrases. The Boogeyman watched on with glee as a few large, spindly cracks grew out form the point of weight on its fragile surface.

"I know, I know." He attempted to comfort her, taking a small step forward, only to have several cracks extend from where he stepped.

Both their trepidation was building, and Pitch was loving every second of it.

"But you're going to be alright." said he. There it was again; that stupid courage of his. How Pitch wished he could just smash it to pieces.

"You're not going to fall in… " he attempted to reassure her. "Uh… we're going to have a little fun instead!"

Fun? How was fun going to help them out of this? Pitch snorted privately. The brother was now resorting to false hope, it seemed.

"No, we're not!" Pippa unconsciously echoed Pitch's thoughts.

"Would I trick you?" her elder asked playfully.

"Yes! You always play tricks!" she cried.

Jack, caught red-handed, chuckled weakly. "Alright, well not, not this time. I promise, I promise, you're gonna be…" he drew a rattling breath. "You're gonna be fine."

He promised, huh? Then how come his stomach was curling into a small, quivering knot of apprehension? But the next thing he uttered made Pitch freeze.

"You have to believe in me."

That was it. She always believed in him. That was why he could never plague her with fear.

All of a sudden, Jack's eyes were alight with a trickster spark. "You wanna play a game?" he invited. "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play everyday."

Hopscotch? Exactly what was this boy's bright idea to escape this situation?

"It's as easy as one…" a bare foot was extended onto the fragile surface of the pond and the boy winced as cracks appeared. But somehow, he managed to pretend that he had lost his balance and flailed on one foot, his arms wind milling comically, causing his sister to laugh. He had a talent for making people smile, despite any situation, it seemed.

"Two…" another step was planted on a more solid patch of ice. Pitch noticed Jack's eyes meander to the shepherd's crook he possessed that had been laid on the pond's surface. He took a last step over to the staff, landing on a thick sheet of ice. "Three!"

So he had made it. Big whup.

He older brother seized the stick and held it out to his sibling. "Alright… now it's your turn."

She took a step. The ice cracked maliciously under her feet. She bit back a shriek.

"One… that's it, that's it…"

Another step. Another crack. Pippa let out a sharp gasp.

"Two…"

Pitch couldn't believe it. The little girl was scared out of her wits, nearly petrified, but she was still inching her way towards her brother.

She took another step.

"Three!"

Jack leaned forward and in one swift motion, hooked his sister around her tiny waist and flung her over the ice. Pitch could feel the adrenaline pulse within him. Little did any of them notice that the momentum had sent Jack back a few steps near the center of the cold web of cracked ice.

Pippa looked at him, smiling. Jack easily returned it, relieved and unbelieving at his success. Pitch momentarily though that his fun was over and turned to leave.

A crack like a gunshot and the terror returned. Pitch whipped around to see no Jack and a gaping hole where he had stood, Pippa screaming his name frantically.

The terror had returned. In the heart of the young girl, it festered. And at the expense of her brother who, in the deep darkness of the water, was slowly dying. Any swimming ability he had was swallowed up by hypothermia.

The Boogeyman mixed feeling about this. He did enjoy the fear that was rolling off the girl in huge waves as she started to cry, but he did have to admit that a twinge of sadness was panging in his heart. He had had a child once; a daughter. He never intended to hurt children. He never intended to kill them. But, he reflected, it wasn't his fault the boy fell in. It had been nature's fault, not his. He was merely reaping the benefits of misery. Pippa's misery. And it was wonderful.

He slipped back into the shadows, still reveling in the fear that he could smell. Back then, he didn't know that Jack Overland would become Jack Frost. He didn't know that the boy who had drowned saving his sister would be his downfall three centuries later. In fact, he would probably never know. It wasn't as if he could predict the future.

All he knew was that little Pippa Overland would now be more scared than ever.

* * *

**AN/: I wrote this while listening to "Die Young" *is thrown into a pit of wild beasts***

**Okay, maybe I can write happiness next chappie. Maaaaaaybe. **

**And after I received a sacred gift yesterday (coughartbookcough) I realized that I screwed up a few things, such as Jamie's age and parental status. For instance, I though he was eight when he's actually ten.**

**Uh whoops.**

***rockets into the sun***


	13. Best Buds

The heterochromatic fairy always liked it when Jack came to visit. And she knew that he was completely okay with her pestering him from time to time. Unlike the other fairies, Baby Tooth was not so swayed by the winter spirit's outward appearance and was able to restrain herself, much like her mother. Of course, she did feel an attraction, but then again, so did many others (Snegurochka for instance). But she had a different relation with him that any of the other fairies, which made her even more different than the others. She felt that she had a closer relationship with him than anyone else, save maybe Jamie. So it always pleased her when he met her on patrolling duty in mid-air or something. And on days such as today, he was always willing to take the time out of his day to offer her a little company.

She had been looking for him specifically, more as a kind of stress reliever than anything, as work tended to frazzle her more easily than the others. The only problem with Jack was that he was far from easy to track down. In the winter season, he was usually found hovering around Burgess, Pennsylvania. But it was spring now, and April Showers had already shooed him away so she and her sister could work their springtime magic. But by her calculations, Jack was probably near Russia at this time, or maybe even the North Pole, seeing as he couldn't go anywhere in the Southern hemisphere, except maybe the tip of South America. So she had zoomed off to find him. And there he was, in Abakan, Russia, just casually covering everything with snow and ice.

Her first order of business was to ram straight into his nose. Which she did.

"Ouch!" he yelped, obviously caught off guard and nearly falling off the Vladimir Lenin statue.

She chirped worriedly, afraid she had actually hurt him. Which she hadn't. He had merely rubbed his nose and regained his balance, giving her a very confused look.

"Baby Tooth, what was that for?"

She gave him an apologetic look, as a sign that she had just wanted to see him pretty badly, or so she hoped. Jack seemed to take it that way.

"Okay, so why are you here?"

Baby Tooth chirped that she had just wanted to hang out for a bit, but then remembered for the hundredth time that he was unable to understand her. So she settled on fluttering over to the crook of his neck and nuzzling her soft, feathered head against his ice cold skin. All she was here for was company. The company of the one person who had never questioned her individuality, whether it be her eyes or her personality.

Jack smiled. "Nice to see you too."

* * *

**AN/: It's early. I'm tired. I need to go sleep and stop writing.**

**Baby Tooth and Jackie are best buddies and no opinion will sway me otherwise.  
**


	14. Dreamsender

Sandy was responsible for bringing dreams to children. His dreamsand filled the sky with its enchanting golden light each and every night, hypnotizing those who could see it. It was slow, peaceful, relaxing. And with it, it brought the tranquility of sleep and peaceful nights when no thoughts could be blackened.

But Sandy didn't pick the dreams. No, that would be far too mentally exhausting. His dreamsand merely triggered the subconscious and any of the dreams that one might enjoy. He didn't even know what kind of dream that child might have. It was all up to them. He just provided the material needed for the dream to happen.

But when it came to dreams, there was one person in particular whose dream he was curious about: Jack's. When Jack touched the dreamsand, it turned into a dolphin, he knew that. But dreamsand had the weird habit of turning into one's favorite animal when it was touched, not their dreams. And he already knew of the dreams of Bunny, Tooth, and North. But not Jack. Jack never slept and always avoided being nailed in the face with dreamsand if he could. Thus, his curiosity was piqued and he set out to confront him.

In front of the other Guardians, no less.

When Jack found himself being stared at by a frustrated and/or contemplative looking Guardians of Dreams, it was only logical that he was put a little on edge. Sandy was gazing at him, nose scrunched up and a single eyebrow cocked, being disturbingly silent.

"...Sandy? What's up?" Jack asked tentatively.

Sandy's frown merely deepened.

"If this is about the kitchens, it wasn't me, alright?"

The little golden man's lips pursed.

And then he nailed his younger in the face with a handful of dreamsand.

Jack's eyes closed dreamily as he fell back, instantly out cold. Tooth, who was hovering closest to him, had swooped in and saved him from a nasty fall. Making sure he was okay, her incredulity was directed at her senior. "Sandy! What was that for?!"

The other Guardians were positively flummoxed as Sandy shushed the Tooth Fairy and floated closer to the winter spirit's eerily tranquil form, hovering near his head so as to inspect the dream that formed there.

Defined in two golden figures was an older boy with a messy shock of hair, Jack, playfully chasing a much littler girl in circles. Finally, the dreamsand Jack caught up to the girl and tackled her, taking her captive in a wrestling grip, tickling her to death as she writhed gleefully in attempts to get away.

Jack, below the sand, was smiling. They all were.

"Blimey," Bunny shook his head. "I didn't know the bloke had a sister."

How could they tell it was his sister? Even they weren't entirely sure. It was a kind of instinctual thing. And judging from the way he played with the girl, it was the best assumption they could have made.

His seniors were happy to learn something about their newest member.

But then Bunny frowned. "Wait... what happened to the kitchens?"

North's warm smile vanished faster than he could say "panic".

* * *

**AN/: This has an amazing lack of Sandy in it. Arrgh. I want to take him home with me.**

**Presenting my theory on dreamsand. A-thank you. *bows***

**(Leaving the kitchen incident up to your imaginative minds.) **


	15. Recipe for Snowfall

One of Jack's favorite parts of his job was making blizzards. Sure, nature itself made a few that were, shall we say, noteworthy, but the winter spirit's blizzards were really something special. They were spectacular, in fact. But no one seemed to appreciate the raw power funneled into these great and powerful snow driven tempests, particularly not the Easter Bunny. Jack appreciated them. Perhaps a little too much. He put so much energy and effort into them; whenever he made a big one, he usually collapsed in a snow bank somewhere and did the one thing he found to be truly luxurious; sleep.

Usually, if he tried to hold one back, it ended in disaster, or it did for him anyway. It would start with recklessness and agitation, and within days it would turn into internal bleeding, delirium, and well, not feeling so great. The last time that had happened was during the Death Camps of World War 2, come winter. He couldn't do anything about the current state of the people, who were dying even outside the furnaces or gas chambers, but he didn't want to make them more miserable than they already were; thus, he had resorted to freezing several German tanks advancing into Russia and had held it in until he was allowed to move far enough away and had unleashed an apocalyptic blizzard out in the middle of nowhere on the Asian continent.

But that wouldn't happen this time. There were no holidays, no people suffering, and no way he could aggravate anyone up in the tundra of Alaska. It was time to start a blizzard.

It began with the gathering of the clouds. Jack, along with the North wind gathered them up, raising them high, almost herding them like cattle. (If the others knew this, they might find his shepherd's crook to be utterly befitting.) This part was very organized compared to the rest of it. It took about five minutes to gather the clouds to a pack of 105 miles wide, which would be good enough for the trip across the icy state. Now came the fun part.

Jack went to the center of the potential storm and built himself a little space to begin the process. He began to tap the clouds with his crook, releasing bucket loads of energy at a time with each tap. Icy bolts flew across the clouds, the moisture the cloud carried freezing into delicate crystals of substantial weight and temperature, the staff's power crackling through the clouds like lightning. He swirled them around a bit, making them stormier, more violent. With the weight of the cargo they carried, the clouds began to sink, Jack still powering the clouds with his staff. The clouds got heavier and heavier, lower and lower…

And finally, with a huge blast of icy power that was nothing short of a spectacular, the clouds began to release their cargo, snow spilling onto the coldest of the US, and a bit of Canada.

All the pent up energy he had stored was now being released, the storm pounding down fiercely upon the ground below. It came in the form of snow, sleet, and hail, forming a veil as it pummeled the Earth. The wind helped the blizzard, bringing the ice and snow into a sheet that rained its fury on everything like a beast.

And the winter spirit could keep it up for days. Not that the other Guardians knew that; they probably thought that he just started one, then just up and left, and while this was true in a few cases, for large blizzards his constant energy output and attention were required. Like the blizzard of '68, technically.

The blizzard lasted until the evening after next, subduing from a devastating mass of ice and sleet to just a few gentle snowflakes falling down. Jack, to put it simply, was exhausted. All the pent up energy he had stored for about two months that had finally released was now leaving him as the clouds departed, cargo dropped and no longer in need of his assistance to do so.

Completely drained, the ice spirit felt himself drop, only to be caught by the wind who carried him gently to the ground a considerable distance below. Upon arrival, Jack shuffled a few steps before settling into a snow bank and going out like a light.

In a few months, it would be rinse and repeat.

* * *

**AN/: Useless trivia: This was the first RotG drabble I wrote. Thus the title. Uehehehehe.**

**I enjoyed seeing your theories last chapter. And thanks to Catflower Queen and Alaia Skyhawk for giving me ideas for more drabbles, even if you never meant to. :3**

**And I will not be writing a "kitchen incident" drabble. The only idea I have for it is that it involves a waffle iron, a WASP knife and several pieces of innocent produce. That'd just be too insane for me to write.**

**So anyway, this author comment is kind of relevant, as I kinda want to start me own plot-based RotG fic. It involves time travel, OC's, and a evil lady that makes Pitch look tame. I just would like to know if any would be interested, perhaps?**


	16. And so, an Apology

**A continuation from last time.**

* * *

"Has anyone seen Jack?" Tooth had asked worriedly one day. At which all the other Guardians had stared at her. Now, the senior Guardians normally did not worry over Jack too much, as the wayward soul showed up showed up somewhere they could actually find him about every two weeks.

Well, it had been three. His seniors usually didn't have a solid handle on time, except perhaps North, but Christmas had already passed and it was halfway to February, so it was not essential that he keep an astounding track of time.

Bunny shrugged. "Bloody snowcone's prob'ly off makin' icicles or summat. Leave him be."

Tooth, however, glared, mother hen mode activated. "But we haven't seen him for three weeks already? We said we'd always be there for him, after what we did to him before he helped us, but we can't do that if he's gone, now can we?" she then bit her lip, muttering at top speed. "Oh, I hope he hasn't gotten himself hurt or-"

"Hey, take it easy, Sheila." Bunny frowned, throwing his paws up in defense. But she more or less just steamrolled right over him.

"Maybe we should go find him. He might need our help…"

"Tooth…"

"And it would be nice just to keep tabs on him anyway, even if he doesn't need it…"

"Tooth."

"Oh, if he is hurt… I hope he isn't… But what of he is?! I don't think I could-"

"Tooth!"

Tooth whirled around to face the Cossack who had been trying to catch her attention, feathers now ruffled with stress.

"You worry too much." North raised his eyebrows at her.

"And you worry too little!" she fumed, fists clenching, while some of her mini-fairies nodded angrily in agreement.

"Calm down, Toothiana." said North, raising his hands defensively. "I do not think that Jack is hurt. But, if you want, we can look for him."

Her feathers reclined, returning to their original, less fluffy positions. "Really?"

"Of course."

Bunny groaned. "Do we have to?"

Both Tooth and North looked his way, glaring. "_Yes."_

Bunny then proceeded to whack his head on the table, grumbling "That gumby is more trouble then he's worth…"

But they all knew that it was just a front. That, or Jack was most likely to be somewhere cold, and the Easter Bunny was not particularly fond of that.

* * *

And so, the Find-Jack-Frost team had been deployed. Sandy would float around with the night hours, using his dreamsand to get a handle on his location, if he found him. Tooth and Baby Tooth would search wherever they could, with all the other Tooth Fairies on the lookout as well. Meanwhile, North and Bunny would search the daytime regions, mainly the northern hemisphere, as they did not expect Jack to be in a place where it was currently summer, like Australia (which now resembled the Eye of Sauron on the weather maps). North was handling the United States, while Bunny was up in the Canadian area, though he believed he was more in Alaska than anything else. It was surprisingly still where he was, even after trudging through the white wasteland for countless hours. No clouds, no wind. Just blindingly white snow and pale blue sky as far as the eye could see. And the snow came up to his mid-torso.

"Oh yeah, he's been here." Bunny mumbled, using his front paws to shovel away copious amounts of snow. Walking through that colorless swill was ridiculous, and when he found that frozen idiot, he'd be giving him a piece of his mind. Though, he supposed, snowboarders and skiers would love it. Not that that made him any less grumpy about it.

"A'right, Twinkletoes!" he shouted. "You're out there, ain'tcha? I know you are!"

Silence. Bunny had had a feeling that that wouldn't have worked, but-

And then, a head from out of a pile of snow about two feet away. The patron of the Easter holiday nearly jumped out of his skin. Or fur.

Jack Frost yawned. "Whaddya want, Bunny?"

Bunnymund quickly composed himself, reminded of his frustration at the kid for not showing up when he was supposed to and making them all worry.

"Been looking for _you."_ he snapped. "Tooth was worried sick abou' ya."

Jack blinked, clearly not seeing the issue. "I was sleeping."

"Well I know that _now._" the rabbit rolled his eyes. "But maybe you might try tellin' us when you go gallivanting off for three weeks straight, eh?"

The winter spirit's eyebrows creased. "Wait, it's been over two weeks?"

_"Yes." _the Pooka's patience was waning.

And then jack did something surprising; he looked worried, regretful almost. "Aw, no. This always happens… ugh." The spirit then looked at Bunnymund with that eerie facial expression of someone who had just failed his responsibility. "Look, I'm really sorry, Bunny, I didn't mean to sleep for that long-"

"Whoa, whoa, wait." Bunny threw up his paws. "You mean to say you've been sleeping for a week straight?"

"Give or take." Jack shrugged.

Bunny frowned. Not even Sandy slept for that long. "What exactly were you doing?"

"Making a blizzard." said the younger simply. "I usually crash after the big ones." he laughed hollowly. "This one was probably a bit much, I suppose."

"Yeah." Bunny agreed, looking around their surroundings. "Kinda puts the one of '68 to shame."

He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Or maybe he didn't; he was still a tad upset about it. But jack would not face him after that. He merely got to his feet, picked up his buried staff and stalked off, mumbling something about apologizing to Tooth under his breath.

"Hey, snowflake, c'mon, I meant no offense." Bunny hopped after him, attempting to repair his mistake, though the damage had already been done. "I mean, I was miffed about it, still am, but it's in the past now, right?"

"Not to you, it's not." The other snapped, still pacing away with his back to his senior.

"Yes, it is. I've let it go, already."

"Really?" Jack spun suddenly to face him, voice dripping with anger and what sounded suspiciously like… anguish. "Because it seems like you haven't. You like to bring it up whenever you can."

"Wha- I do not!" Bunny protested, his harsh temper coming back. Here he was, trying to be the nice guy, but there was jack, acting like a _brat._ What gave him the right? And he had only mentioned the incident twice before; when it had happened, and when the Yetis were sent to abduct the winter patron. Otherwise, it was hardly mentioned.

"I was just making an observation!" spluttered the Pooka. "You don't have to get so snippy!"

Jack let out a derisive snort. "Oh, yeah. 'Just an observation.' Please. I know what I did upset you, and any other circumstances-"

"'Any other circumstances'?!" Bunnymund was shouting now. "You're the winter spirit! You make your own circumstances! No one else decides when it snows, right?!"

"For your information, there was snow long before I was around!" Jack yelled right back. "And, unlike you, my powers have a mind of their own!"

"What does that have to do with anything?!" Bunny growled as a retort. "They're _your_ powers, aren' they? You can just let loose a blizzard whenever you please!"

"Really?! Is that_ really_ how you think it works?!"

"How else would it?! The blizzards don't start on their own!"

"Says the rabbit who never ventured out of his hole to see one for himself. You don't know anything about them, so don't pretend that you do!"

There was a silencein which they were both glaring at each other heatedly. Little things were rattling around in both of their minds, particularly Bunny's. Jack was saying these thing almost like… something was forcing him to make a blizzard.

Was there something forcing him to make a blizzard?

"…What were the circumstances?" Bunny asked quietly, glare softening.

Jack's angry expression, however, did not fade. "Wouldn't you like to know." he answered coldly.

Bunny was not about to let it go, no matter how much Jack wanted him to and questioned him much more firmly. "Mate, what happened that Easter?"

"Why do you care?!"

"You need me to give you a reason?!"

"Yeah, that would be nice." Jack snarled.

"Alrigh', ya drongo! How about that I actually do care about what happened to you, and if you were coerced into making a famous disaster, I migh' wan to know about it! Has that thought ever crossed your mind?" the Pooka shouted, arms thrown out with his emphasis.

Jack stared. Apparently, it hadn't crossed his mind that that was a possibility (though who could blame him, at first glance it seemed Bunny was intent on hating him until his dying day). His glare evaporated and his forehead sunk to meet his palm. Bunny's anger drained away as well. For the first time, Bunny saw the usually mischievous and confident Jack Frost look fairly hopeless. He cursed his inner ability to be the biggest softy to ever exist.

"Sorry." Jack said quietly. "I tried to tell you before but, well…"

"What happened?" the Easter patron pressed softly.

Jack sighed, running a hand through his snowy hair and looking at the ground. "My… my powers are not the most stable in the world. Every few months, the excess power I don't use builds up and the only outlet is to…" he laughed quietly. "Is to make a storm. And if I don't... let's just say I don't feel so great. And it needs to be released afterward anyway, if I hold it back."

Bunny frowned. "Define, 'don't feel so great'."

Jack replied, and he replied so lowly that Bunny wouldn't have heard him, if not for his superb hearing.

"Internal bleeding, delirium, stuff like that."

And then came the guilt. It made sense now. Jack had told them the story of what had happened during his absence while he took Sophie home (with much interrogation from Tooth). Jack would never sabotage Easter because he wanted to. In the case of '68, it was because he had to.

"Oh…"

"Sorry." said Jack again.

"What're you apologizing for?" Bunny inquired.

Jack, not expecting this response, looked at him in confusion. "The… the blizzard of '68?"

Bunnymund face-palmed. "Jack, you're a smart kid, but sometimes you can be really thick.

"I'm the one who should be apologizin'."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Bunny grimaced. He didn't want to do this, that much was evident, but it was necessary for his peace of mind. "I'm sorry for being an insensitive, uncaring…"

"Anger prone." Jack supplied.

"Hasty…"

"Empathetically impaired…"

"Shut up." the Australian scowled. But then he breathed out. "Look, what I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry I didn't know the consequences of you holding back a storm, and I'm sorry I didn't bother to find out."

Jack held up his hands. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's good."

And they stood there, for the first time not bickering or competing or exchanging snappy banter. It was all mutual consensus.

"We should probably get back." the winter spirit jerked his head in a non-committal way in a north-ward direction. "Wouldn't want Mama Tooth Fairy getting _too _mad at us."

"Mad at _us?_ You mean mad at _you."_ Bunny frowned, although smiling.

Jack rolled his head to one side. "Fine, fine, mad at me."

Bunny simply rolled his eyes, and with a quick tap of one of his back feet, a tunnel opened before them. And, as they were about to jump in, he suddenly frowned and whirled on his "heel" to face Jack once more.

"We're… not going to mention this conversation to the others, are we?"

Jack smirked. "Wouldn't even dream of it."

It was back to hating each other as usual.

* * *

**AN/: They were both grounded for three weeks afterward. Just kidding.**

**Partially dead, but your love keeps me alive.**

**So yeah. Mid-terms. Not fun. The majority of my free-time has been sapped out of my schedule, only to be replaced with studying for Japanese and math tests.**

**Okay, so this chapter was not silly. It was angsty & fluffy. Angst/fluffy. Anguffy. Maybe. What.**

**(And to those in Australia, I give my opinion of your condition. Please survive for me.)**

**Next chapter will belong exclusively to North, and then more Tooth, Sandy, Sophie and Jamie afterwards, because they don't get enough love. Until then, toodeloo.**


	17. Sugar Rush

For the thousandth time, a yeti had come bursting into the prototype room without knocking. Lucky for him, North had not sent any flying mechanics into the air, but he did receive a nasty scare, making him almost chisel off a piece of his car track that he hadn't meant to.

Sighing exasperatedly, he turned to the suddenly bashful yeti in the doorway.

"Really, can you not learn to knock?" came the rhetorical question. "What is problem, Stewart?"

Stewart garbled something hurriedly, clearly spooked. And when the garbling was finished, so was North.

"The elves _what?_"

Stewart growled in Yetish even more urgently. North ran a hand over the bald patch on his head, clearly not aright with the present situation. With a sense of heaviness, he got to his feet and pulled one of his cutlasses out of its sheath.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

In the main hall, it was pandemonium. But how could it not be? Whenever the elves managed to knock down North's massive sugar jar, one could be sure that it would at least be YouTube material.

There were elves _everywhere_. The yetis and North had always thought that finding a place where they would not be able to step on them was hard enough before, but this was just ridiculous. They gnawed on wood, bounced on present boxes, scattered tools everywhere, smashed into toys, knocked down every non-portal containing snow globe off of North's shelves, and even managed to wrap a poor, unfortunate yeti named Drew in Christmas lights. The very few sensible elves were attempting to get the others under control, but as North showed up, they looked positively gleeful.

North cursed his life. Of course he had to hire workers who, one, absolutely _adored_ sugar and, two, went bonkers when they managed to get it.

"Alright," he commanded his workers. "Put all the lifts onto the lowest level. Bring Donner and Blitzen to me. Board up all the windows and doors as well."

What happened after that could only be described as the weirdest herding to ever take place. The two reindeer North had requested were led in by two very gruff looking yetis, Colin and Wayne, and their very presence made the elves scatter. Using this, and he combination of many abominable snowmen and their Cossack leader pushed them into the lifts with the use of large wooden slats. From there, they were out of said lifts and corralled outside, where the cold would sap their energy. The sane elves would keep tabs on their poor fellows, of course, but one would think that they would learn their lesson after freezing their miniscule behinds off kitchen raid after kitchen raid. But that was not the case. They were so much like oompa-loompas (except for the fact that ooompa-loompas were actually useful and not entirely nuts) that it was scary.

North sighed as he took out his pocket ticker, which was at 174, and set it back to zero. They had yet to go a year that was elf-incident free.

* * *

**AN/: Many people wanted a sugar high drabble, and thus I delivered.**

**Elves. Elves elves elves. **

**Yes I am going to name all the other yetis besides Phil and you can't stop me. *cartwheels away***

**I made references to quite a few things here, including Whose Line and Wreck-It Ralph. S-U-G-A-R, jump into your racing car, its Sugar Rush! Okay I'm done.**

**And we've hit over 50 in all of the categories (faves, reviews, follows) ahuhuhuhuuuuuh I love you all so much come here and let me hug you.  
**


	18. Polylingual

"_What do you suppose happens for the teeth to contain memories, do you think? I mean, I'm the Guardian of memories, and even I don't know… You think it might be because they're the only bone that kids will willingly take out?"_

"Tooth…"

_"But I'm curious as to why that is in the first place, I mean, is there something about the cell make-up of the teeth in the skull? Maybe it's the enamel that does it?"_

"Tooth."

_"Or maybe it's because it's the only bone that goes out of the body in anyway? I mean, I love them and all, especially the kids that take really good care of them… what do you think, North?" _the fairy turned to him.

North looked back with a hopeless expression on his face. "Tooth, you're doing it again."

"_Doing what?"_Tooth's head cocked to one side to lay on her shoulder.

They did not answer her question, though Jack fired one. "Are you speaking Estonian, Tooth?"

"Ma olen?" was her reply.

"I believe she is."

"Tooth," North sighed. "English please."

"Oh... oh! Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" Tooth suddenly realized her mistake and smoothed out a few of her brightly colored feathers, a pale red creeping into her cheeks. "I... I keep, uh..."

"Speaking in languages no one here understands?" North supplied.

"Yes." said the fairy sheepishly. "That."

Tooth was the only Guardian to speak every known language in the world. She had to, otherwise she couldn't do her job correctly. Understanding a child's language was essential to keeping their memories safe and interpreting them when needed. Thus, she went far past all limitations and learned them all, though she and all the other Guardians spoke English, it being the language of business and the most widely spoken language. And due to her frazzled nature, Tooth sometimes, well...

"So you just burst out speaking a different language at random intervals?" Jack grinned at her, eyebrow cocked, and Tooth thanked her lucky stars she wasn't Bunny, otherwise she'd be teased to no end.

"Yes..." she replied shyly.

"That's... really cool, actually. The only other language I bothered to learn was Icelandic."

Tooth blinked. "You know Icelandic?"

North, however, was very grumpy about this. "And not one time has she spoken a language I can understand in my presence." he mumbled.

"There are plenty of other languages besides Russian, North." Tooth replied smoothly, which only further upset the Cossack. He walked off grumbling and Jack smirked at Tooth as the man's back was turned.

"Hey, so I thought up a joke to play on North. Wanna help?"

Tooth gave him a look.

* * *

**Something that came to mind, and I don't care how badly it was written I'm putting it out there anyway.**

**I was really interested in the fact that Tooth knows every language, and I figured, hey, North and Jack could be too. And the only language that suited Jack was Icelandic. That, or French (because Canada) or Russian, and since North is Russian, well... ta-da.  
**

**Though the main purpose of this was to get away from finals. 90 minutes is too far long a test. By Thursday I am going to be dead, so please excuse the brain-fried quality.  
**

**(Jack don't be an asshat.)  
**


	19. Studying

**For those who didn't get the implication last time (and if you did, sorry, I couldn't tell)**

**Jack: Komdu, húmor mér í þetta eina skipti.**

**Tooth: Ó allt í lagi.**

**North: Stop that.**

**Oh and by the way, I do know the Iceland is greener than Greenland, I just picked from the list on Google Translate. Greenlandic was not on there. Jus' clearin' things up.**

* * *

Was it mandatory for tests to be torturous and mind-frying? Jamie didn't know. Though he supposed the answer was yes. And yet some insisted that they were good for your education.

Liars. All they did was make you tired and want to go cry in a corner.

Unlucky for Jamie, he had one tomorrow. The subject? Multiplication and division. With the use of parentheticals, no less. It sucked to be in the 5th grade, and no one knew this more that young sir Bennett. Sophie didn't have to go to school yet, and she had no idea how horrible it was going to be for her when she did reach that age. But for now, the burden of education fell upon her brother's shoulders.

The thing was, he sucked at math. Or, he sucked at multiplication, at least. Jamie had to get a grade of a C or better, otherwise his grade was going in the basket. And when in doubt, turn to others for help.

Right?

"So you need me to help you study math because why?" said Jack, following the boy as he walked home that day, walking along the chain-link without so much as a rattle from it. He was a pro tightrope walker.

"Because you're over three hundred years old, and you're probably much smarter than me, and you're the only one who will do it." said Jamie, counting the various reasons off on his fingers.

"You really think that I spent my time learning math on my own? I'm technically still a kid, you know." Jack replied, eyes trained on him, clearly trying to think through Jamie's thought process.

"I dunno, maybe?" was Jamie's reply. "I mean, you read a lot of books, right?"

"They were mainly novels, Jamie." Jack sighed. "How many novels have you read that are about math?"

"So you won't help me?" said Jamie forlornly. His friends wouldn't help him; they didn't care if they blew the test. Jack had been his one hope, and it was dashed.

Instantly, Jack felt guilty and, with very apparent hastiness, attempted to rectify his mistake. "Hey, c'mon, I didn't say I wouldn't help you. I'm just saying that I might be less of a help than a hindrance."

Jamie looked up, face brightening, when he heard the Guardian's words. "So you'll try?"

Jack shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

* * *

"Jamie."

"Yeah?"

"What are these hieroglyphs you're studying?" said the spirit of winter, eyes fixated on the paper and staring at it hopelessly.

"Those are multiplication problems." said Jamie.

Jack blinked. "You mean those scribbles?"

"That's my handwriting, Jack."

"Oh."

Jamie sighed. Maybe Jack was right, and he wouldn't be of much help at all. "Look, you don't have to study with me, I can always ask Mom…" the 5th grader spoke, gradually trailing toward the door, only to be hooked by the collar of his shirt at the crook end of Jack's staff.

"Oh, no, you don't. Sit down; we are going to sit here until you figure this out."

Jamie groaned. He hated math.

* * *

**AN/: Guess what my least favorite subject is.**

**Venting about finals, yep. Thank God they're over.**

**And there was another inbox flood, thus I have been reduced to a puddle of thankful goo. I love you all. ;u;**


	20. Tye-Dye

This was a crisis.

Sophie had been wandering the Warren for the last few hours, chasing eggs around, while Bunny had had to repair some of more worn egg soldiers, as the trees that grew upon them were starting to aggressively erode their stony make-up. If he didn't then he'd have to start from scratch, and that would just be a pain. Sure, he had stone to spare, but the more he had, the better he felt about it. Bunny had thought Sophie would be fine, that he didn't need to pay copious amounts of attention to her, that the eggs would take perfectly good care of her.

So when the little girl came back multi-colored, sopping wet in magical dye, he stared.

"Wha- how- what happened?!" he eventually spluttered.

"Fell in." Sophie said shyly, brushing her now bright pink, self-cut bangs out of her face.

Of course she had to fall into the river of egg dye in the Warren.

Bunny sighed. Perfect. She was due back in a couple of hours, and that dye was an absolute monster to get out of cloth-like materials, not to mention rubbing it off her skin and out of her hair. Even if she made it before the deadline, her mother would still be a little taken aback at having a thoroughly tie-dyed daughter. And that frozen idiot was going to be here to pick her up any minute now.

"Hey, Bunny."

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

There was Jack, perched on a strangely oval shaped rock, smirking his infuriatingly cocky smirk. "What's with the walking art piece you got there?"

"It's not my fault!" Bunny protested. "I take my eyes off her for one minute and she goes and-"

Jack snorted. "Then maybe you shouldn't take your eyes off of her, huh, momma kan-"

"No. Don't you go there."

The teen rolled his eyes as a response to this while, unnoticed by either of the immortals, little Sophie Bennett started to nod off.

"What am I supposed ta do? There's no decent enough water source around her to get all this dye off 'er?"

"Bunny, calm down. That's why I'm here." spoke Jack ever so smugly. "And that is why you owe me now."

"I do not." said Bunny, stone faced.

"Okay, so maybe you don't. It still isn't that big a deal."

The moment Jack spoke these words, Sophie hit the ground.

Both the immortals turned in a panic at the noise and, unsure as to how to react, stared.

"And now it is." Jack blinked. Then he absently scratched the back of his head. "Well, it is kind of past her bedtime."

Bunny groaned.

* * *

**AN/: I'm tired. I should stop writing. But we neED MORE SANDY.**

**Oh and can I just share that I got the sweetest review last chapter from Immortal Bubblewrap? No? Okay.**


	21. A Past Nightmare

_It should have been a good day. Perfect weather, clear skies slightly tinged with a winter chill, the sun slowly creeping up over the trees. The pond was still frozen through and through, nothing showed any sign of impending disaster. And yet, it was there._

_The pond hadn't been as frozen as they had thought._

_Dread had settled over the siblings, brother and sister, as the ice snapped threateningly under the sister's feet. Both were terrified and took very little care to not hide it._

_The brother, kneeling on the ice, held out a hand to reassure his younger. "It's okay, it's okay!" he rushed. "Don't look down, just look at me."_

"_Jack," the girl whimpered, clearly terrified. "I'm scared."_

_"I know, I know." He put one foot out front, towards his blood, only to have cracks spread from the point of his weight. More adrenaline coursed through him and his calm was now hanging by a thread._

_"But you're going to be alright." Trepidation filled the air with this forced calm that was his tone of voice. ""You're not going to fall in…Uh…" he then broke into a clumsy grin. "We're going to have a little fun instead!"_

_"No, we're not!" she cried, seemingly on the verge of tears._

_"Would I trick you?" he asked her playfully, trying with all his might to ignore the sound of their barrier between safety and certain death breaking._

"_Yes! You always play tricks!"_

_The elder chuckled weakly; there was no denying that she had a point. "Alright, well not, not this time. I promise, I promise, you're gonna be…" his breath trembled as he drew it in. "You're gonna be fine."_

_She looked at him, still terrified, yet still, well, hopeful._

_"You have to believe in me."_

_The girl now had at least a shred of confidence within her. She believed. Her brother would get her out of this and they'd go home shaken, but otherwise okay. She believed that will all her heart._

_She gulped._

_A mischievous spark ignited in his chest and he grinned every more broadly at her, an idea springing into his head. "You wanna play a game?" he invited. "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play everyday."_

"_It's as easy as one…" he planted a foot a few inches away and the ice snarled at him with cracks that made one's heart race. He winced but covered it up quickly by losing his balance and flailing comically. His sister laughed, and a brief shadow of relief crossed the boy's face._

"_Two…" the boy was edging towards his shepherd's staff with utmost caution, making sure his way was solid._

_And with a final leap, he made it. "Three!"_

_With the wood in his grasp, he held it out to his younger for her to grab, seeing as ice skates were not easy to walk in. "Alright… now it's your turn."_

_The girl's face screwed up with determination, though it was lined with a trace of fear, and took a small step forward. With a malicious snap, the ice created a few more small cracks. She held back a squeak._

"_One… That's it, that's it…" he encouraged._

_She inched forward a little more with another nerve snapping crackle._

"_Two…" her brother whispered._

_Another step and…_

"_Three!" exclaimed he and, with a lung, he looped the crook around her waist and flung her over the ice, her limbs splayed out at uncomfortable angles. Yet, she was able to rise, smiling at her brother. He let out a small laugh, thoroughly relieved and the victory of his saving his sister's life just sinking in. _

_And as the brother made a move to stand, there was a horrible cracking noise. The boy's world then suddenly went reeling skyward, as he managed to catch a glimpse of his sister reaching for him, screaming his name. And in the next instant, he saw the sky, saw the fait imprint of the moon above, felt the freezing cold water rush in his ears and swirl around his body, sapping his energy as he clawed at nothing but sub-zero liquid until-_

He woke up.

Jack was sitting up right, as he had jackknifed into said position, breathing heavily. If he could sweat, he would have been coated in it.

For a minute, the boy had very little idea as to where he was and had to look around. He had to make sure he wasn't in the pond, that his sister wasn't there, that the event of his death had already passed. To his relief, he was still where he had been before_; _sitting next to a trash can by an old hobo who, he had learned, had a magnificent ESPN voice. The contents of the can must've been lit earlier, as the air was very slightly tinged with the smell of burning rubber, or socks, or whatever that street smell was. Jack was used to it, so he didn't care; it wasn't as if he could complain about it anyway. But the dream… did one normally dream about their death from 300 years ago after remembering it for the first time since?

Of course not. That was a stupid question. Why would anyone besides Jack even remember such a thing?

His breathing slowed gradually, feeling himself begin to calm. If the nightmares he kept having were Pitch's fault, Jack was going to smack him when he saw him again. But the thing was, it technically wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory. A really bad one, but still.

He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling rather loudly, taking notice, for some reason, that he could not see his breath in the cold night air, though it was nothing new. But it bothered him now, for some reason.

He hadn't always been this cold.

* * *

"Remind me why I'm here again." Jack sighed.

North had once again taken the poor boy captive and was holding him prisoner at the Pole and had not even once bothered to tell him exactly why, not in terms that Jack fully believed anyway. Sandy was there, dozing in a corner, and from what Jack knew, Tooth and Bunny were scheduled to arrive as well.

North looked at Jack with a very blank expression. "Bonding."

Jack stared at him.

"Bonding." he repeated his senior.

"Why is this concept so hard to grasp?" North frowned at Jack.

"Uh, because, you haven't said what with." the teen pointed out dryly, staff finding a perch across his shoulders.

"The others, of course, who else?" North huffed, arms crossed.

Jack arched a brow. "Dare I ask why?"

North shook his head, his eyes rolling behind his closed lids as two fingers kneaded against his brow. "Because we're family now, Jack."

"I get that, sort of." The whole family concept was still foreign to him. "But what exactly are we supposed to bond over? You do realize that we don't have too much in common."

"Because we don't know if we do." North replied cheerfully. "We have not taken time to find out."

Jack groaned. "Do I have to?"

North deadpanned. "Yes."

"Damn it." Jack cursed, a rarity.

"Jack." North eyed him sternly. He didn't exactly approve of people swearing, regardless of age.

"I mean, darn it, sorry."

And so the awkwardness continued, as the other two Guardians failed to show up for quite a while, for whatever reason. And of course North had wanted to light a fire. And of course it made Jack feel like he was going to turn into a puddle and retreat to the other side of the other side of the room. The nasty thing about fire was that it sapped his energy pretty darn quickly, and when ever he was close to it, he needed to crash, thus explaining his nodding off back on the city streets a few days ago. Immortal entities were not required to sleep, and they didn't do so. Sandy and Jack were probably the two who slept the most, as it still wasn't very much. And yet, the fire was so warm, that Jack's eyes just… they just had to droop. And of course he found himself feeling rather woozy.

"Hey, North?" he finally asked.

North, who had been inspecting a wooden model train as they waited for Tooth and Bunny, looked up. "Hm?"

"You, uh, you got a place I can bunk down for the night? The, uh," he gestured lamely at the fire. "The heat's kinda getting to me."

North's eyebrows shot up; he suddenly felt rather ashamed and rather stupid for lighting a fire when a winter spirit was present. He had figured if Jack was not particularly close to it, he wouldn't be affected by it. But this was not the case, it seemed.

"I'll put it out, if you like." North offered hastily.

Jack shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I'll just get tired anyway."

North was already closing up the fire with its outer glass covering, but he nodded nonetheless. "There are spare cots in the infirmary, if you like."

"Great, thanks." He smiled weakly, rubbing his drooping eyes and left North to his own devices.

A couple turns and twists around the walkways, a few lift rides and a few near incidents of stepping on a stray elf, the spirit of the coldest season walked into the lukewarm infirmary. There was only one yeti there; Phil. Jack didn't even know why Phil was there, but whatever it was wasn't important. At the moment, sleeping was his top priority.

Until Phil was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Hey, Phil." Jack smiled feebly. Phil gave him a glare as a response, and then garbled something in Yetish. Jack believed it was some sort of comment of the yeti's suspicion.

"What? North said I could bunk down here." Jack protested, absentmindedly scratching the small patch of skin just above his left shoulder blade.

Phil let out a growl and began to stalk out of the room, but not before taking a bottle of aspirin and giving Jack an "I-am-watching-you" stare.

"Nice to see you too, Phil. " said Jack dryly. When the yeti had finally made his exit, Jack was left alone, and took this moment of freedom from company to sprawl out on a cot. A part of him really wanted to just doze off, but another told him to stay awake. If he stayed awake, he wouldn't have to see the distorted replay of his death. But, alas, he was just too tired. His eyes began to drop slowly, slowly downward, his world going fuzzy and black.

It was funny how much falling asleep was like dying.

* * *

_The pond again. _

_But this time, Jack was not with his sister. He stood upon the brink, and for some reason, he was scared. Something told him that he should not go out there. Something was warning him, screaming at him to listen. But he… he had to. He had promised his sister he would teach her to ice skate, and she had been waiting al month for the right conditions, both weather and schedule wise. Or that would have been the case if he could find her. But she was nowhere to be seen._

_And the ice… the ice was… odd. It was dark, lined with small dark pieces of what appeared to be sand. But it wasn't sand, Jack knew that. Sand was more of a light brown, and this was blacker than the night sky._

_He kneeled down, so as to inspect the pond and its odd glittering black particles. They had almost this kind of allure to them, but at the same time, his body yowled for him to run, to get his sister, to never take a single glance back. The tingle of adrenaline pulsed through the boy's thin frame._

_Next thing he knew, the ground had given way and he found himself splayed on a hard stone surface. Nothing could be seen. He subconsciously felt around for something. Something he had brought with him. But what was it? All he could remember was that it was made of wood. Whatever it was, Jack was unable to find it._

_And then, the voice._

"_Jack?" a little voice called fearfully out of his inky surroundings. It sounded distant, but he didn't have a hard time hearing it. And he knew who it was._

"_Jack?" his sister called out again. And suddenly, he was afraid. Afraid for his sister._

"_There is nothing wrong with being afraid, Jack." said an awfully familiar voice. Its tone was oily, almost seductive, and utterly befitting of the dark. But Jack didn't even heed it. He was terrified, and he didn't need that voice to tell him what was obvious. Where was she? Where was his sister? If he lost her… well, it was unthinkable. If she was in trouble, he had to find her. No other thought was present in his mind._

_He began to run._

_The passages twisted, and the boy stumbled constantly as he could not see their roughly curving turns, stairs, and archways. But whenever he tripped he always got back up._

"_Jack?" Was that his sister? It didn't sound like it, but he had to follow it. If it was hers, then what choice did he have?  
_

_The sprint continued. Jack felt water growing around his feet. It started as a few puddles, but then turned into an area not so different from the shallows of a lake. This was only an encouragement to run faster._

"_Jack."_

_Where was she? Where was his sister? Where was the water coming from? Was it higher where she was? __**Where was she?**_

"_Jack!"_

_The water was rising far more rapidly, slushing around his waist with menace. He had to wade slowly now. Not as if he had any other choice. But damn it, it wasn't fast enough! And it was getting far more difficult as the murky liquid continued to rise…_

_The other voice again. The terrifying one. "You really don't like water, do you?"  
_

_The sheer volume shook him roughly by the shoulders. It was level with his neck._

Not again…_ he pleaded to any god who would listen._ Please, not again…

_He had to save her._

_"JACK!"_

_He couldn't hear anything other than the screams.  
_

* * *

**AN/: This is two parter, fear not.**

**So yeah, I've been busy with comic stuff lately, and I finished at 12:15 yesterday, so I now have time to write some more. Lucky me.**

**And, yes, that other voice was Pitch. I couldn't resist describing it that way. Jude Law's voice is yummy and everyone knows it.  
**


	22. Valentine's

Cupcake stared.

Before today, she had never gotten a Valentine. Not from anyone, save her parents. Maybe it was due to her potentially brutish face or her tough nature or her ability to be easily angered. Whatever the reason was, she had once heard two teenage girls call it "Forever Alone Day" and she could not help but to agree more, because everyone else got something nice from their peers. Cupcake hadn't. Until today.

On her desk, piled in a haphazardly heap, were paper cutout hearts, unicorn stickers, and small packages of diabetes in a box. She eyed it all suspiciously. Was this a prank? It had to have been. This sort of thing had never happened before, not once. They probably had teasing notes inside them, mean, hurtful things that she'd rather not read or hear. Or maybe they didn't. Could it be possible that they were genuine? It was her greatest hope that it was the latter. That would be so nice... nice to get a Valentine from people who weren't her own blood.

She sat slowly, eyes still trained on the pile of reds and pinks on her desk, still wondering if the risk was worth taking. If it was hate, then her Valentine's Day would be horrible, more horrible than so many before, but if they were real, then she would most likely have the best Valentine's Day she had ever had. But the question was, to open or not to open?

Unable to stand it any longer, she grabbed a small pink envelope and tore off the unicorn sticker, peeling it off carefully and sticking it on the side of her desk for safe keeping. Inside was a folded piece of lined paper, with barely visible chicken scratch handwriting on the other side. It was unfolded carefully, in case anything was inside and fell out. But there wasn't. Thus, undeterred, she opened it up and read it.

Cupcake,

This was the twins and Jamie's idea, so don't get upset if we don't deliver it in person. (Boys.)

But you're our friend and we want you to have a nice Valentine's Day.

Jack promised to play with us after school, you should come too.

From Pippa

And Monty, Caleb, Claude, and Jamie.

Cupcake stared at the letter some more. Particularly at the lines " Our friend" and "have a nice Valentine's Day." These kids actually considered her a real friend. They didn't give a hang about what she was like, and they wanted her to have a nice day, however indirectly.

She had never been happier on a Valentine's Day in her life.

* * *

**AN/: Cherubs up the wazoo, y'all.**

**So about last chapter... *avoids thrown fruit***

**Seriously, it is a two parter. I swear. I just hit a huge writer's block on it, and it's progressing at the speed of molasses. That and I get to cackle evilly as you are held in suspense. *shot* And I had to write something for Cupcake. If Cupcake was my kid, I would spoil her rotten.**

**Past Nightmare will be up next chapter I swear.**


	23. A Past Nightmare part 2

Jack woke up.

He was still in the work shop when he awoke, but he had yet to soak in that fact. The warm neutral colors contrasting beautifully with the sky-blue windows were nearly blinding in contrast to the black world that was the darker part of his subconscious. It hit him all at once and he fought desperately for a few seconds to keep his icy blue eyes open.

Oh yeah, he was going to hit Pitch the first chance he got.

Not only that, it came to his attention that he was not alone, that the infirmary had not been as abandoned as when jack had first drifted off. A sliver of iridescent green sat in the very corner of his peripheral vision, and the spirit was pretty sure he knew who it was.

Sitting by his side, true to his suspicions, hands on his shoulders, was none other than the Tooth Fairy, who looked rather panicked. Her amethyst eyes bored into his concernedly as he managed to catch his breath, which he hadn't realized he had been holding.

He had been holding his breath. Most likely preparing for the inevitable.

"Are you alright?" Tooth asked, worry lining her voice.

Jack looked at her. In truth, he didn't feel alright at all. But he nodded anyway. "What happened?"

"I came in to get something and you were... twitching. Nightmare." said she. Her feathers were slightly ruffled, most likely from her concern over his state of distress (Jack couldn't help but be mortified).

"Oh. I suppose." mumbled Jack and he rose to a sitting position, left hand rubbing its respective eye.

He didn't care to tell Tooth exactly what had happened, and she didn't dare to pry. She knew that Jack trusted very few, the very few being Baby Tooth and Jamie (whom she envied), and his trust came, generally, with more understanding than many could ever hope to achieve. As Baby Tooth was the one who had stuck with him throughout the whole Pitch ordeal, and Jamie was his very first believer, it didn't take a smart mind to see why he trusted them above various alternatives.

But she couldn't help but to be curious. It was her nature to be that way. And if there was something wrong with Jack, wasn't it her job to be the mother of the group, to be the one who comforted others when they needed it? That was what her instincts had always told her, anyway. And her instincts very rarely led her wrongly. So, this time, she ease into the following of them.

"Have these nightmares... been occurring often?" was her first question, concern genuine, and she did want to know the answer to this question as well. If it had been occurring often , then she'd have great reason to be worried, for Jack and for, well, everyone else. It could be a sign of potential threat from Pitch.

"They're not really nightmares, per say." replied Jack, scratching the nape of his neck. "They're... well..."

He wanted to tell her. Why couldn't he tell her? She was the mother of the group, the one who listened to an explanation more often than not. She would listen, understand, and if she told the others, it would be in a gentle, soothing way that just tended to make every situation better. But he still couldn't tell her. Jack hadn't even told Baby Tooth or Jamie. In fact, he had only told Baby Tooth he had had a sister, and that had been more out of excitement than anything. And how would he put it to her anyway? It wasn't like he could say 'Oh, so, hey, I'm a mummified corpse withdrawn from a pond after I died saving my sister's life, which left her all alone afterward. No biggie.' That was just a recipe for disaster, especially Tooth, who got way too frazzled when traumatic things were laid out bluntly. And he couldn't tell her, no matter how he tried. Because he hadn't done so with anyone else.

"Never mind." he finished lamely.

* * *

"North, I really do not see the point to all this." said Bunny as bluntly and unwilling as he could. Sure, he wasn't particularly doing anything at the moment, seeing as Easter was in a few months and not to be rushed at the current moment, but he'd still rather be at his warm, vividly colored Warren instead of the frozen wasteland that was the North Pole. And he didn't really see why binding was necessary. After all, they did know each other fairly well. It was as though further invasion into one's privacy was required. Then again, North had sort of taken on the fatherly role in their little mismatched family, and paternal instinct was now probably embedded in his genetic coding.

North rolled his eyes at the stubborn rodent, explaining, again, as patiently as he could. "Bunny, I told you. We have very little association with each other, except on times such as last April."

"So what?" was Bunny's reply. "We managed before, didn't we? And we still make a decent team."

"Decent might not be enough in the future." North said sharply. "We need to be _stellar_."

Bunny grumbled again, noting that North did have a point, but that did not stop him from being the most cantankerous rabbit to ever exist when faced with the subject. It wasn't like the other three were so eager; Sandy was asleep, and Jack and Tooth were nowhere to be found.

This thought suddenly struck him.

"Where are Tooth and Snowcone?" he questioned. North had reported that Bunny had been the last to show up, and yet the frozen idiot and his fairy friend were off frolicking somewhere. Or so it would seem anyway. Why she went along with his constant shenanigans was a mystery to Bunny.

"Well... Jack got tired and went to the infirmary," (Bunny stared at North as he said this.) "And Tooth... I don't know."

"Hold the phone. Twinkletoes gets tired?" Bunny asked incredulously. And here he was thinking that Jack was nothing but a bundle of energy. Besides when he made blizzards, of course, but he was keeping that information confidential until the proper moment, so as to protect the boy's pride (As much as he hated to admit it).

"Apparently yes." said North sheepishly. "See, this is exactly why I thought this was a good idea. Any weaknesses we have, we can always talk about."

Thus the pair headed to the infirmary. There was about a 50% chance that Tooth would be there with Jack, unless Jack wasn't there, in which case they would both be somewhere else. Probably.

Approaching the door to the ward, Bunny, with his superior hearing, soon knew that both their targets were in there, having a conversation, it seemed. And, from the tones of their voices, it seemed to be... very personal. As North made a grab for the door handle, the Easter Patron put his own paw on it and pushed it away, gesticulating for father Christmas to be quiet. When he did so, he motioned for him to lean forward and they both pressed their ears to the wooden material that made the door, Bunny picking up their words far clearer than North could.

"They're not really nightmares, per say." He heard Jack say, in a low voice that clearly suggested mortification."They're... well..."

There was a pause in which Bunny strained to pick up any kind of communication, from either of them. But there was nothing to hear. Until Jack spoke again.

"Never mind." he said.

* * *

"Jack, don't give me that." Tooth replied sternly, in a very maternal way, at which Jack couldn't help but to think of his own mother, the one from so long ago. "If you need to talk, we'll talk."

Jack growled, frustrated with himself, though it may have come across as though he was angry with her, and flung himself off the cot. "It's not that simple."

"It doesn't have to be simple." said Tooth, slightly offended by his reaction, but not showing it. "You can take your time, but it would be nice if you told someone."

Jack stood there. He wished he could just... say it. But the possible reactions he could receive were sickening to think about. There was possible horror, possible disgust, or even, the other Guardians could have been created the same he was. All were equally terrifying. The question was, how was he going to handle any of them, if they came?

Maybe it had to be started with a question.

"Tooth."

She raised herself off the edge of the cot and fluttered closer, but not too close. Jack was almost spider-like when it came to physical contact and company in general, since he wasn't used to it. "Yes?"

"How does someone become a... a spirit? Or childhood icon, I guess. Are there any really special circumstances?"

Tooth hadn't been expecting that. But at least a little light was shed on the situation. The nightmare had something to do with Jack's becoming a winter spirit, at least that seemed to be the case. She didn't dare speak this out loud however, otherwise he'd be scared off like a deer, as he often was. So she answered his question.

"Well... from what I understand, the Man in the Moon will only make you a spirit if you did something that truly showed you have a heart for all children."

She didn't notice Jack's hands clench into fists on the sleeves of his hoodie and continued.

"And there needs to be a way for you to leave nothing behind, I think. You need to be in a state where nothing more can be taken away from you, even if it is at the expense of others. Otherwise... people will wonder where you've gone."

At it was at that moment that Jack's heart silently shattered.

"Even... at the expense of others?" he lisped, barely audible, still turned the other way.

Tooth nodded. "Yes. It's very sad, but... That's the way it goes. It's the way it has to go. Imagine if, say, my parents told everyone their daughter was the Tooth Fairy. It just... they'd have been labeled as lunatics by those who didn't believe, and those who did might've used them to get to me."

Jack then looked to face her, sensing the sadness in her voice. "What happened to your parents?"

"They died, from people to wanted to get to me." said Tooth miserably. "I only just managed to get away, but..." she shook her feathered head, iridescence swaying with her. "Anyway, after that, I received the Tooth of Manny himself, and he made me the Guardian of children's memories."

That made sense... sort of. But it still left a question unanswered.

"So, you were still alive?"

Tooth frowned at this. This question was a bit more off-putting, even considering the ones that had come before it.

And in an instant, everything clicked.

She fluttered closer, gently extending a slender hand onto his shoulder, to which he flinched, but his momentarily taut muscle slackened. The fairy sighed out of relief internally. Jack was like a deer: easily scared off. One wrong move and he would be gone before you could say "wait".

And she hoped that her question to his wouldn't do just that. But it was something she just... had to ask.

"Were you?"

* * *

**AN: It was getting long. So I'm making it a three parter. Nyeherher, you can't tame me~~  
**

**Aw, come on, be happy I kept my promise.**

**So apparently buying Rise of the Guardians on iTunes and eating a ton of licorice, listening to Steam Powered Giraffes while being sick increases work motivation?! Maybe?!**

**Now, onto barfing out part 3.**


	24. A Past Nightmare part 3

"Were you?"

Bunny barely managed to hear Tooth, her voice so soft he barely heard it over the beating of her wings. It appeared she had caught onto what Jack was attempting to say as well. Bunny didn't think that Manny actually had the power to bring someone back from the dead. And even if he did, which now he knew for almost sure, he wouldn't just do it willy-nilly. Jack must have done something spectacular to have life given to him again, even if it was in loneliness and solitude. He looked at North, who was looking at him, expression concerned, but obviously knowing it was no good to intrude at this time. Bunny nodded and went on, ear, if possible, pushed closer to the wood.

* * *

Jack had been bracing himself for it. But he was still taken aback slightly with the gentleness of the manner in which his senior spoke. It played slightly on his face, but he figured there was no avoiding it. After all, he had dropped too many hints. With a forced smile, he turned to the hummingbird, her hand remaining on his shoulder. If he was going to finally, _finally,_ tell the truth, he might as well look her in the face.

"If I said no, would you be horrified?"

There it was. He got it out. And the sadness on her face was something the winter spirit would never forget. Her irises were not as vibrant as they once were, her eyebrows creasing dramatically, her expression spouting the emotion.

"No. Just sad." she said.

White hair fell over his face as his head dipped to face his bare feet, eyes, the very soul of his emotions, hidden away from Toothiana.

"Sorry." was his low reply. "I should've told you sooner."

Tooth shook her head again, smiling slightly. "I don't blame you. Having to witness your own death has to be horrible."

Jack chuckled weakly. She had no idea. It was more than horrible, it was by far the whole reason he partially wished he had never recovered his memories. That suffocating feeling of the cold and dark, smothering his senses, with the horrified expression on his sister's face being the last thing to be imprinted in his mind... it was an epic struggle over whether or not he wanted to forget it.

"Do you think you can tell me?" spoke the Tooth Fairy. This, like so many other things, would be looked into with time, and if he was ready to tell them, now, later, or never, so be it.

Jack sighed. The cat was already halfway out of the bag, so why not open it all the way? Get it over with. That seemed like a good idea.

"Yeah, I think I can." he replied, and it was amazing to him how easily his agreement came to surface. Jack had thought his own subconscious wouldn't allow it. Tooth had thought so too, apparently, as shock flitted across her face for the briefest second. But she accepted it even faster, and her expression settled into one that was far more listening-ready.

He drew a breath, silently bracing himself before he began to spill the beans.

"Well, I guess I should start with the family. We were shepherds, me and my dad, anyway." Jack started.

Tooth was already listening intently. The shepherd's crook had been explained at least.

"And my mom and sister were, y'know, standard Quaker girls. S'why they were allowed to run around all the time, even if they didn't have to do as much work as the boys did."

Tooth chuckled inwardly. So nothing had really changed from Jack's childhood days.

"Anyway," he attempted to veer back onto the beaten path. "My little sister... she said she wanted to learn to ice skate one day. Sure, spring was coming, but the ice was still thick, so I didn't see the harm in it. I took her out to the pond one morning, when it was still cold."

The fairy's heart sank. She could see where this was going.

"I was in the middle of showing her how, when... we went a little too far away from the edge. She ended up on a weak spot and the ice... y'know." he jerked his head non-noncommittally. "It started cracking."

Tooth's eyebrows furrowed. _His sister...? But then, how did he-?_

"She was really scared. So was I, in fact." There was no hiding the shudder due to the very recollection of the memory. "But I had to get her out of it somehow. So I... I suggested we have fun instead. Play a game." He smiled at the irony of it all, that his center was the thing that meant his death, however indirectly. "We played a lot of hopscotch back then, since it was easy and her favorite. I saw reason to have it apply to the situation."

Tooth was still puzzled, looking at him dubiously. His sister was the one who had been in danger, not him. And he hadn't gone near her because he probably would have submerged them both, had he been any closer to the girl's position. At least, that's how it sounded. So why was he the one who was dead?

"I told her to take three steps, like after you throw your rock in the game," Jack spoke. "But I knew there was no way she would make it, since ice skates are monsters to walk in, so I held" he gesticulated silently to his wooden staff, leaned crookedly against the cot. "that out to her. She didn't make it far enough to grab it so-"

He paused. The boy didn't even know why he was going into so much detail. Or maybe he did. Because Tooth wouldn't understand if he didn't? Or maybe because it was his own ending and he could go as in-depth as he wanted. To him, every last detail of this moment was cherished above all else. If he was going to share, he was going to do a good job of it. That was the theory anyway.

"So I got her around the waist and flung her out of the way."

Tooth had to interrupt here. Her instinctual curiosity was murdering her. "So... you saved her, but you both were safe?" she asked. "That doesn't exactly match up with what you told me, Jack."

Jack smiled hollowly at her, clearly saying with his expression that that wasn't the whole story, which was a bit heartbreaking, really.

"Well, when I flung her out of the way, some of the momentum carried me off...

"And I fell in." he finished lamely.

And that was it. It was all in the open now; his inception, from start to finish. It was off his chest now, and he was somehow feeling better and worse about it at the same time. Maybe it was because of the expression on Tooth's face, maybe it was because he had recollected the memory as it was spoken aloud, who knew. Certainly not him. Maybe a shrink.

Tooth was silent, staring at him. Giving his life for his own blood; it was the ultimate exchange. And the reasons for both Manny recalling him from his watery grave and his mysterious amnesia were now completely transparent. And he had been a child. _She_ had been a child. But Jack had saved her, at the expense of his own erasing his own company from the human eye forever.

Were the pangs in Tooth's chest ones of pity?

Suddenly, Jack looked up, a false grin arranged hurriedly on his face, in a sort of effort to hide his pain. "Well, that's my sob story. Now we're even."

Tooth looked at him dubiously. "What?"

"You told me about your parents, I told you about my sister. We're square." He turned away from her again, the fairy's small hand now pushed off his shoulder. "You should probably go back to see North now." he spoke, walking around her and over to the cot to pick up his staff, the whole detour all for the sake of not looking at her. The spirit retrieved the wooden article and had just reached for the door when...

"Stop."

He froze, hand hovering inches away from the door handle at the sound of Tooth's surprisingly angry voice. Her face, unseen by him, was a mixture of hurt, fury, and melancholy, her hands clenching tight then unfurling at her sides.

"Stop pretending like you're not hurting, Jack. We all know you are."

"You know, huh?" he spoke a little more coldly than originally intended. It was a shame that coldness was his basic defense mechanism.

"It would hurt anybody." Tooth went on. "And you know it."

Jack didn't say anything; it was mainly because she was right. His hand dropped abruptly to his side, swinging slightly, and his mood vanished. She may not have known what dying was like, but she did know about pain, and she did know what would hurt and how.

Tooth then abruptly changed targets, now reprimanding the two Guardians on the other side of the door, whose presence had been apparent for quite some time now. "Isn't that right, boys?"

* * *

Bunny froze. Then his head dropped. Apparently he wasn't as ninja-like as he had hoped. That was the Tooth Fairy for you.

The door swung open slowly to reveal a shadowy eyed Jack, looking rather ill, and Tooth hovering in the air a bit behind him, wearing a "I'm-going-to-chew-you-out-not-because-I-want-to-but-because-you-deserve-it" look on her petite face. Tooth in full on mama mode was, to be honest, slightly terrifying. Bunny scratched his neck anxiously, while North, next to him, was simply fascinated with the soles of his boots.

"Can't blame a mate for trying, sheila." Bunny tried to defend himself.

"Oh, yes, I can." Tooth bristled. "Why were you trying in the first place? It wasn't your business."

"To be fair, it wasn't your business either." Bunny muttered sourly. Tooth would have seemed to not have heard him, if not for the look he was given.

"You ever consider asking to get in on a conversation?" Jack asked them, clearly not as torn up over it as Tooth was. In fact, he found it funny that they had nothing better to do than eavesdrop. He vocalized this last thought and both Bunny and North looked more sheepish than before, if possible.

"Was an accident." North spoke. "Unintentional."

"Sorry, mate." Bunny added.

Jack ran a hand through his hair. He would have preferred that they had found out with him looking them in the eye while he spoke, like Tooth. He knew that they were still just as understanding, but this still... it didn't feel right. Jack waived it aside nonetheless. "S'fine. You'd probably find out sooner or later."

And yet, it was not fine, which was something they all knew. Regardless, he then wove past them almost silently exiting the room, the gazes of his seniors following him as he left.

There was silence, then...

"I wish he wouldn't do that." Tooth spoke sadly.

"That is why I called us here, so we could open up." said North indignantly. "And we have learned something new about our youngest member already, no?"

It was kind of depressing that he was right.

* * *

**AN/: Weak ending, but that's because I wanted this over and done with. Plus these things are always half-asleep material, sooo.**

**And I don't ship Jack and Tooth at all. *hides drawings* Nope. *hides fics* Not at all. *hides movie***

**Now back to writing goofy things that don't hog three whole chapters, god.**


	25. Ever so Lucky

It was Sunday. Glorious, wonderful Sunday. A weekend on the day of St. Patrick's Day was wonderful, as that meant Jamie wasn't required to wear green for his own safety. And it seemed every year all his green clothing articles were in the wash on just that day. But this year it didn't matter. Sophie wouldn't pinch him, nor his mom, and his friends… well, he could avoid them.

But what he was truly interested in was The Leprechaun. He had to be real, as Jack had told them, and he quoted, "every one of us is real." That meant every childhood figure was out there somewhere. Jack commonly complained about April showers, always bossing him around on April, so as to make room for May Flowers, her sister. And Bunny got along with the Groundhog as well as he did Jack. So, if it was his holiday, it was Jamie's hope that he would find the redheaded shoemaker somewhere. Or a four-leaf clover, at least. After all, Jack had told him that the whole pot of gold think was all baloney; the gold was just the chocolate coins you can pick up at the dollar store.

Still, Jamie had this weird itch to meet every Guardian he could lay his eyes on. He felt super lucky to know them, even if it had been by chance. Ever since he had seen Jack, he wanted to never let his belief fade, as he had been so close to that night. Keeping it as strong as possible was the one sure way he could think of to give his best friends to fall back on, just in case. If the light faded as much as they had last April… he didn't like to think about that. After all, now that Jack was a Guardian, any lack of belief would affect him too. And it never ceased to amaze Jamie how haggard they all looked when he was the only one keeping them alive. They weren't truly immortal, after all. So he had to do whatever he could to keep his belief strong. Because they might not be so lucky next time.

But he was very surprised to step out the door that morning and find a man, garbed in a traditional Irish garb (with a kilt, no less), smoking an old wood pipe, hair a blazing ginger, and twirling a clover between his rather proportionally large hands.

And he only came up to Jamie's ankles.

Jamie stared. The man didn't even bother to look up.

Until Jamie sputtered out "Uh… you're the Leprechaun, right?"

The Leprechaun looked at him, giving him a kind of merry squint, taking his pipe out of his mouth every so casually and blowing a perfect smoky O. "Aye. Yer name is Jamie Benne' innit, lad?"

Jamie gulped. "Yessir. Uh… why are you…"

The Leprechaun chuckled and put the pipe back into it's holding place. "Yer a favorite of the big four- wait, no it's five now. It would be a shame if ye went unnoticed by all the res' of us." Then he grinned, "Well, tha' an' ye cannae find me if you don' know what I look like, eh?"

Jamie smiled at him. The Irish man probably knew precisely why he wanted to hunt for him in the first place, and was just doing him a favor. "I guess not."

The Leprechaun winked and vanished with a small pop. Jamie followed this up by zipping up his vest and hurtling off the porch.

The hunt was on.

* * *

**AN/: Not dead. Just a really tired writer who... can't actually write. Or at least, should be writing an essay and/ or comics, but is doing this instead.  
**

***sob***

**Let it be noted that I hated St. Patrick's as a kid because I never seemed to wear enough green to ward away pinchers. And yet, I wrote this, for no other reason than the Leprechaun was briefly mentioned in the movie. (I'm sorry I ruined him. *bows*)**

**He related to Merida. No. He is Merida. Merida got a genderbend. Whoopsie.**


	26. Bullying

Easter had come and gone. There was no snow anywhere it shouldn't have been, and for that Bunny was thankful. Made his job easier. He certainly didn't want a repeat of 1968. But then again, April's Fool's day was tomorrow. But he was too relaxed to think about that now. All the eggs were where they were supposed to be, All the baskets were filled, and even the skies were clear. He had decided to take a quick rest in Burgess, visiting his favorite kid before he headed back to the Warren. It was the least he could do; he hadn't seen her in a while after all. So he had gotten her to sit with him on the porch along with Jamie, who was currently devouring the last of his chocolate coins from defeating the Leprechaun in a furious game of hide and seek. Sophie was preoccupied with some of the eggs that had turned out a little more ornery than their siblings and were running from the terror that was the four year old on their spindly inch long legs.

But still, Bunny was surprised. Jack hadn't shown his face at all this year. He thought that perhaps he would have at least stole one of his eggs or some other kind of meaningless torture. But no such thing occurred.

"Hey, Jamie," he said to the boy. "Have you seen Jack at all?"

Jamie looked at him. "Yeah, he was just here, actually. He said something like ' Happy Easter, I gotta go before April Showers beats me to a bloody pulp'. Or something like that." He smoothed the foil from the last coin and sent it to join it's bothers in a neat little stack he had created. "And I also gave him one of my chocolate bunnies, so if he starts acting up, I take the blame."

Bunny stared. "You what?"

Jamie looked at him sheepishly and Sophie successfully caught an egg and totaled it like a pro wrestler. "Sorry, Bunny, but if I eat too much chocolate, I get sick."

Bunny grimaced. "Okay, so maybe I went overboard this year."

"You sure did."

How did he do that?

Bunny turned, careful not to pull one of his neck muscles, and faced the winter spirit, currently perched on the roof by the rain gutter, who was looking rather smug in this balmy spring weather.

"I thought Showers chased you out." he frowned.

"Ms. April Showers is currently under the impression I am on my way to the Himalayas, which I technically am, but I just couldn't resist saying hello."

"I'm sure you couldn't." Bunny said sardonically. "What do you want, Frost?"

"Surely you didn't think I wouldn't be bothering you this Easter?" he smirked. Then he pulled a small chocolate bunny from the hood of his pullover.

Bunny raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by...?"

The wrapping was pulled back. Bunny was still- wait.

"Oh. Oh, no."

Jack gripped the head of the chocolate piece, wearing the best imitation of a Cheshire cat grin Jamie had ever seen.

"No. Don't you-"

_Snap._

* * *

North was very surprised when Bunny, of all people, had run into his workshop through one of his tunnels, positively... terrified? Panicked? Something along those lines. No matter what is was, he came leaping out of the tunnel, positively howling.

"NORTH! MAKE HIM STOP!"

North blinked. "Make who stop?"

"JACK! He's being mean to me!"

And, as if on cue, Jack came floating leisurely out of the still open tunnel saying "-and I heard that quite a few families eat copious amount of your brethren this time of year, I mean who wouldn't? They're all over in commercials these days- oh hi, North."

North closed his eyes. He supposed it was time Jack got a regal chewing out.

* * *

**AN/: I was originally going to write something sad, but this popped out instead. As you can see, it's pretty much crack. **

**Happy Easter.**


	27. Writer's Block

The Guardians, were, to put it simply, were bored out of their freaking minds. They hadn't been in action for at least a month, and it was driving them nuts. Just sitting around was not their style. It never was.

Jack was the first to break.

"What on earth is taking her so long? You think she'd be done by now."

Tooth responded with a heavy sigh. "I don't know. I doubt it's all the art stuff she had to do, she's been done with that for some time."

"Maybe she is busy with school." North suggested, while Sandy shook his head.

"No, that's not it." Jack grumbled.

"You know how teenagers are." Bunny replied, albeit sourly. "Lousy bunch of procrastinators."

"Thanks." Jack shot back sardonically. ("I wasn't talking about you." Bunny said.)He then rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll have to go see her, tell her to hustle up."

"Be nice." Tooth said sharply.

"Yeah, yeah." Was his reply as he headed into the room of the truly terrifying creature that lurked solely in a space that was not their own, her ideas influencing their lives and actions.

This creature was currently on the computer, giggling her head off at something called Homestuck.

"Sam," he started. "What the hell are you doing?"

The rather pathetic looking teenager with the ratty ponytail and severely written on hands turned from her current occupation to face him, taking her glasses off at her doing so.

"Oh. Hi, Jack."

"What's the hold-up?" he groaned." It's been at least a month since we had to act out one of your scenarios, and we're bored as all hell."

She blinked. "You're complaining? But my scenarios suck."

"So what if they do? Gives us something to do."

"I've hit writer's block, leave me alone."

"You think that's an excuse?"

"Oh, be quiet, Frosty." she replied, pulling her tablet from underneath her keyboard. "I got other shit to do beside display my lame head canons. Go help HatsuYukiya or something."

"No. She writes too much."

"Which is why I love her. Now get your pale skinny butt over to… wherever she lives. Yon wilderness." Sam rolled her eyes.

"No."

"Jack."

"No."

"Don't make me go full creepo."

"Write something."

"No."

"Do it."

"I will take this tablet pen and stab it in your eye. I swear to god."

"I won't leave until you write something."

She turned, patience at an end. "Fine. How about I write some hard core smut of you and Pitch, going at it hard? And it will be my first attempt at writing this sort of thing, so you better brace yourself."

Jack stared in sheer horror. "You wouldn't."

"If you don't leave me alone, I will. And I will force you to watch."

Any threat from the author was a serious one.

* * *

When Jack returned, trying his best not to reek of defeat, the Guardians perked up substantially.

"So?" asked Tooth. "What's going on, is she gonna write something for us?"

"What's been going on with her lately?" Bunny added on curiously.

They were all on the edge of their seats, waiting for quite bit, until Jack finally spoke.

"She's busy."

* * *

**AN/: Author insertions are never a good idea.**

**Yeah, so I hit writer's block and I have other stuff to do, not a good combo, whatever.**

**This will be deleted later, unless asked otherwise.**

**BTW: Hatsu I love yooooou.**


	28. Cold Pak

"How could North get _sick_?" Bunny stared at the Father of Christmas as he continued to blaze feverishly on the snow white cot. "The bloke _never_ gets sick, and now he's at 104?"

The medical Yeti, Kit, could only shrug.

Guardians and other such spirits could in fact get sick, but it was only usually a mild bout that lasted at most 24 hours, rather than contracting pneumonia or other such nasty disease, and said sick bouts were rare, so needless to say, this came as a shock. Plus, North was very underprepared for this sort of thing. They had searched all over for an ice pack, but to no avail; there wasn't even any Nyquil to be spared. They had a wet washcloth and plastered it to his forehead as a last resort, but it seemed to do very little.

"We could always dump him outside in the snow." Bunny remarked. "That would definitely cool him off a bit."

"Bunny, no." Tooth scolded. "He'd get frostbite for sure, or maybe worse."

"He's a Guardian, he can't die from being out in the cold."

"The answer's still no."

As if on cue, Jack decided to stroll in, shaking a few stray elves off his staff that had clambered on for some unexplainable reason, making them land with small squelching thumps accompanied by merry little jingles.

"Hey, guys. I heard about North, is he okay?" he asked, tone on the verge of concern.

The others stared at him, with expressions similar to that of recent enlightenment.

As if voicing all their thoughts, Sandy formed a light bulb over his head.

* * *

"That's it, good job, mate."

"We can't thank you enough for this."

"Oogjya warmagaya."

Sandy gave him a double thumbs up.

Jack, sitting on a stool, his upper arm pressed to North's forehead with a rolled up sleeve, scowled at them.

"I am not an ice pack." he growled.

"Aw, come on, don't get in a snit." Bunny barely held back a snicker.

"We'll be back in a while to check on him, so you just cool him down and try to get him better until we get back." Tooth smiled. "Thank you so much, Jack!"

The Guardians and the Yeti rushed out of the infirmary as fast as they could, but not fast enough to prevent hearing Jack's shouted retort of "I hate you all!"

* * *

**Yeah, I bet you're all thinking "Oh, come on, Sam, you've been gone for a while, you must be full of ideas for stuff to write!"**

**Ha ha no no I don't.**

**I could say it was because writer's block, when in actuality that's only part of it. I got hooked on a bunch of new stuff that's come out, like Attack on Titan, and I… yeah, I'm not very good at this.**

**One day, I'll update with something decent. One. God. Damn. Day.**


End file.
